obituaries
Martin Wenick, 80, leader of Soviet Jewry fight Martin Wenick, a leader of the fight to free Soviet Jews who was later instrumental in helping them resettle in the United States, died on May 7 due to complications of COVID-19. He was 80. Wenick spent 27 years as a State Department diplomat before taking over in 1989 as the head of the National Conference for Soviet Jewry, a coalition of Jewish organizations working to support Jews struggling to survive
Beth Susan “Susie” Abramowitz
Beth Susan “Susie” Abramowitz Beth Susan “Susie” Abramowitz passed away on May 12 after a sudden illness. She was 54. Susie was born on Nov. 25, 1965, in Washington. A 1983 graduate of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, Susie excelled both academically and
under Communism. A fluent Russian speaker, Wenick had been stationed in Moscow in the early 1970s, where he followed the plight of Jews denied visas to emigrate. After his retirement from the State Department, Wenick spent three years leading NCSJ. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of restrictive emigration policies for Russian Jews, Wenick became the executive director of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the lead
athletically, despite being born with impaired vision, just one of the many obstacles that she would overcome during her lifetime. After high school, Susie attended The George Washington University where, as an honors student, she earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical and computer engineering while also being captain of the gymnastics team. After college, Susie attended the University of Southern California, where she completed a master of science degree in biomedical engineering/imaging technology. She went on to become a senior principal systems engineer for Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems where she served as a lead analyst, developing equipment and technology that has saved lives. Susie is survived by her parents, Rabbi A. Nathan and Dr. Barbara Abramowitz; her brothers, David (Allegra) and Daniel (Wendi); her nephews, Gadi, Rafi, Zack and Josh; her niece, Marli; and aunts, uncles, cousins and an amazing group of loving and caring friends.
Saul W. Brusilow
Dr. Saul Brusilow, a pediatrician and biochemical geneticist who developed groundbreaking therapies to treat the
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Jewish agency helping to resettle 140,000 Soviet Jews in the United States. “He was a great leader of HIAS, and I will always be grateful for everything he taught me, for the example he set, and for the opportunities he gave me,” said Mark Hetfield, HIAS’ president and CEO. —JTA News and Features
Saul W. Brusilow complications of rare and often fatal genetic defects, died on April 19. He was 92, lived in Bethesda and taught at Johns Hopkins University for more 50 years. The cause was complications of Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Brusilow was internationally recognized in the field of pediatric inherited diseases of metabolism, most notably for his research and successful therapies to treat a group of genetic and biochemical
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disorders of the urea cycle, a metabolic process that uses six enzymes to rid the body of excess nitrogen. If any of the enzymes fails to function properly because of a genetic mutation, nitrogen builds up in the form of ammonia that can damage the brain and cause death. The treatments developed by Dr. Brusilow were among the first smallmolecule drug therapies to effectively treat any disease produced by a genetic disorder. Dr. Brusilow was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1927. After graduating from Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, he enlisted in the Navy in 1945 and was honorably discharged the following year. He graduated from Princeton University in 1950 and then received his medical degree from the Yale University School of Medicine in 1954, where he began his training in pediatrics. After completing both an internship and one year of his residency training at Grace-New Haven Community Hospital, he completed his residency and a fellowship in pediatrics at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore in 1959. He is survived by his children, William (Cynthia) of Grosse Pointe, Mich., and Susan (Stephen) Solomon of Chevy Chase; his grandchildren, Evan Solomon and Nicholas, Samuel and Isabelle Brusilow. He was predeceased by his wife, Sallie (Evans) Brusilow, and his son Alexander Brusilow.
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