Connecticut Jewish Ledger

NEW HAVEN — Two area men were recently honored for quietly keeping Judaism alive in Westville for nearly half a century.

William ("Bill”) Ledewitz and Albert ("Al”) Hourwitz have each been attending the daily minyan at the Westville Synagogue for 45 years.

“These men truly teach us what it means to make a commitment,” commented synagogue president, Stanley Dalnekoff, during a recent Shabbat service and congregational Kiddush honoring the two men.

“When it is dark outside and there is snow on the ground, these men shovel out their cars and get to the morning minyan,” Dalnekoff said.

Rabbi Albert Feldman, rabbi emeritus of the Westville Synagogue, has been attending minyan with Ledewitz and Hourwitz for many years.

“They are totally committed to the shul, unassuming, expect no rewards and no praise for what they do,” Rabbi Feldman explained. “What they do, they do b’emunah (with faith), for the sake of the shul and the minyan and the shul. They are true pillars of the shul. Rain, snow or sleet, they come.”
Ledewitz and Hourwitz were also honored on the occasion of their “special birthdays.” Ledewitz turned 90 on May 29 and Hourwitz turned 94 on May 24.

Rabbi Feldman added, “Al walked to the shul for many, many years. When he was no longer able to walk, as long as someone would pick him up-even in a four-wheel drive vehicle on a snowy day, he would come.”

Hourwitz grew up in New Haven, attended Hillhouse High School and played saxophone and clarinet for bands including the famous Rudy Valle Band. After marrying, Hourwitz moved to New York and had a son, Stanley. Two years later, his wife, Marion, died suddenly, and Hourwitz returned to New Haven, where he and Stanley lived with his parents.

Hourwitz commuted to New York for three years then took a job with Talco Engineering Company in Hamden in 1949. In 1953, Hourwitz remarried. He and Florence Rogoff Hourwitz had one child, Michael. When Talco left Connecticut in 1950, Hourwitz worked as a design analyst for Pratt and Whitney Aircraft, until he was forced to retire at age 65.

Hourwitz frequently led prayer services, and he served as assistant gabbai and recording secretary of the Westville Synagogue for 15 years. He had to resign this position when he lost his eyesight.

Ledewitz is the second of six children, five of whom, including an older sister, are still living.

Ledewitz was born in Glen Cove, Long Island and moved to Brooklyn, where he studied at Yeshiva Torah Vodaath in Williamsburg, and at the Mesifta Hebrew Parochial High School.

In 1930, Ledewitz moved to New Haven, where he was a student at Hillhouse High School before attending Connecticut College of Commerce and Yale University School of Engineering.

In 1941, Ledewitz married Reeva Greenbaum. While a member of the U.S. Air Force, stationed in Miami Beach, Florida, Ledewitz organized services for thousands of Jewish men stationed there. After his military service, Ledewitz returned to New Haven and became an advisor to the Westville Synagogue’s youth groups. He served on various shul committees and served on the board of directors of the Westville Synagogue. Ledewitz and his wife were involved with the New Haven Hebrew Day School and served on committees which made the building of the Orange campus a reality.

Ledewitz estimates that it takes him five and a quarter minutes to walk briskly to the synagogue from his Fountain Street home.

Ledewitz continues to serves as a consultant to industry in the field of automation, packaging and package design.

“When Bill called me last year to say he wouldn’t be at minyan for a month last year, I got worried,” jokes Dalnekoff, “Until he told me that he would be in Sao Paolo, Brazil on a consulting job!”