JGSMI Library Rededication

Sunday, October 13, 2013
Holocaust Memorial Center
11:00 AM

Please join us for a very special event.

In loving memory of Gayle Sweetwine Saini (z”l) we will rededicate the Library of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Michigan in her name. It will become the Gayle Sweetwine Saini Memorial Library of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Michigan. Our library is housed inside the library of the Holocaust Memorial Center.

In gratitude we will be honoring our founder, Betty Provizer Starkman, for her generous donation of genealogical materials to our library. Her numerous books, maps, postcards, family trees, pamphlets, periodicals, newspaper clippings, and other items will be known as the Betty Provizer Starkman Collection, and the items in that collection specially marked.

About the Honorees:

Gayle Sweetwine Saini (z”l)

A longtime member of JGSMI, Gayle tirelessly dedicated nearly 20 years as our Librarian, and was a regular speaker at the IAJGS International Conferences on Jewish Genealogy. There seemed to be little she didn’t know about, and she was always ready to offer her knowledge and research assistance. She had a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Wayne State University, and later joined a PhD program at the University of Chicago. She spent an academic year in India, absorbing the myriad cultures and languages of that nation. In 2010, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She fought bravely and never lost her upbeat outlook and sharp wit. She died in December 2012, at age 69.

Betty Provizer Starkman

A professional genealogist and the founder of JGSMI, Betty served as our first President and Editor of the newsletter, and continues to serve as a Board member. A formal social worker and counselor, she received BA and MSW degrees from Wayne State University and the University of Wisconsin, respectively. She has lectured, written and taught Jewish genealogy for over 20 years. She has visited Israel (at least 27 times), Poland, Russia, Hungary, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Great Britain, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, France, and the Czech Republic in search of Jewish records. An early childhood interest in China led her to an in-depth study of Jewish communities in China. After three journeys to China, she became a member of the Sino-Judiac Institute and attended their first conference at Harvard. She has been a frequent speaker at IAJGS conferences, and with her late husband Morris (z”l) have long sponsored the Morris (z”l) and Betty Starkman Annual Genealogy Lecture and Election of Officers, our annual meeting.