Stella Sławin Penzer (pictured) escaped the Nazis who killed her parents in Otwock, Poland, in 1942. She survived the Holocaust, married, emigrated to America in 1949, and advocated for peace and racial justice all her life. She's among the eight individuals featured in this year's collection of "Life Stories." The others include a decorated bomber pilot who served in World War II, a beloved tai chi teacher, a former Sudanese refugee and a lifelong farmworker.
Aretha Franklin, Anthony Bourdain, John McCain, Stephen Hawking, Barbara and George H.W. Bush: These are a few of the celebrities and public figures who died in 2018. Stella Sławin Penzer James Larry Davio Maggie Van Duyn Lyndol Harley "Lindy" Palin Gisele Seymour Arthur Ross Shelmandine IV Janet Makaris Silic Yiel Nai The Vermonters profiled here are less recognizable, but they were all remarkable in their own ways. Their stories are part of an annual tradition at Seven Days that started in 2014, the year we began publishing obituaries: In our final issue of the year, we bring you stories of Vermonters who died that year. We look for those who stood out in some way, whose passing marks the end of an era, whose lives instruct and inspire us. As always, we're grateful to the families and friends of those featured here for sharing their remembrances. Find an archive of all the "Life Stories" we've published here. — Cathy Resmer Stella Sławin Penzer September 9, 1921-August 7, 2018 Armed men began rounding up the Jews of Otwock, Poland, early on a sunny August day in 1942, herding men, women and children toward cattle cars bound for the Treblinka death camp. "Run! Run!" a friend shouted to Stella Sławin. She ran, leaving her family behind. She slipped through the barbed wire that enclosed the Otwock ghetto and hid on a riverbank not far from the rail yard. There, 21-year-old Stella listened to the staccato of bullets. SS men were shooting Jews in the streets, killing the first of thousands who would die that day — Stella's parents among them. "I ran away, leaving my parents. I felt criminal, yet I clung to life! I wanted to live!" she cried as she spoke to an oral historian 44 years later. "If there is a god, I don't think he can forgive me. I can never forgive myself ... I wanted to live." Stella lived. She survived liquidation of the Otwock ghetto and three more harrowing years of war, during which she lost nearly all of her family, including her twin brother. She lived to become a wife, a mother of three, an American citizen, and a passionate activist for peace, nuclear disarmament and racial justice. Her survivor's guilt coexisted with this relish for life. As a young mother, she awoke screaming from nightmares, scaring her children; she was prone…
Stella Sławin Penzer (pictured) escaped the Nazis who killed her parents in Otwock, Poland, in 1942. She survived the Holocaust, married, emigrated to America in 1949, and advocated for peace and racial justice all her life. She's among the eight individuals featured in this year's collection of "Life Stories." The others include a decorated bomber pilot who served in World War II, a beloved tai chi teacher, a former Sudanese refugee and a lifelong farmworker.
Aretha Franklin, Anthony Bourdain, John McCain, Stephen Hawking, Barbara and George H.W. Bush: These are a few of the celebrities and public figures who died in 2018. Stella Sławin Penzer James Larry Davio Maggie Van Duyn Lyndol Harley "Lindy" Palin Gisele Seymour Arthur Ross Shelmandine IV Janet Makaris Silic Yiel Nai The Vermonters profiled here are less recognizable, but they were all remarkable in their own ways. Their stories are part of an annual tradition at Seven Days that started in 2014, the year we began publishing obituaries: In our final issue of the year, we bring you stories of Vermonters who died that year. We look for those who stood out in some way, whose passing marks the end of an era, whose lives instruct and inspire us. As always, we're grateful to the families and friends of those featured here for sharing their remembrances. Find an archive of all the "Life Stories" we've published here. — Cathy Resmer Stella Sławin Penzer September 9, 1921-August 7, 2018 Armed men began rounding up the Jews of Otwock, Poland, early on a sunny August day in 1942, herding men, women and children toward cattle cars bound for the Treblinka death camp. "Run! Run!" a friend shouted to Stella Sławin. She ran, leaving her family behind. She slipped through the barbed wire that enclosed the Otwock ghetto and hid on a riverbank not far from the rail yard. There, 21-year-old Stella listened to the staccato of bullets. SS men were shooting Jews in the streets, killing the first of thousands who would die that day — Stella's parents among them. "I ran away, leaving my parents. I felt criminal, yet I clung to life! I wanted to live!" she cried as she spoke to an oral historian 44 years later. "If there is a god, I don't think he can forgive me. I can never forgive myself ... I wanted to live." Stella lived. She survived liquidation of the Otwock ghetto and three more harrowing years of war, during which she lost nearly all of her family, including her twin brother. She lived to become a wife, a mother of three, an American citizen, and a passionate activist for peace, nuclear disarmament and racial justice. Her survivor's guilt coexisted with this relish for life. As a young mother, she awoke screaming from nightmares, scaring her children; she was prone…