Dr. Irving Waltman, who, with his wife Fran, established the nationally recognized Edward Lewis Wallant Book Award at the University of Hartford, died Jan. 5 at the age of 100.

Rabbi Eugene Borowitz, a leading teacher and thinker in Reform Judaism, died Jan. 22 at his home in Stamford. He was 91.

Rabbi Ronald Greenwald, who worked to help free Soviet refusenik Natan Sharansky and others, and served as President Nixon’s liaison to the Jewish community, died Jan. 20 at the age of 82.

Garry Shandling, a comedian, actor, writer and producer best known for starring in the Emmy-winning “The Larry Sanders Show,” died March 24 in Los Angeles at the age of 66.

Hungarian writer Imre Kertesz, a Holocaust survivor who won the 2002 Nobel Prize in Literature, died March 31 in Budapest at age 86.

Israeli filmmaker Ronit Elkabetz, nominated for a Golden Globe award in 2014 for the film “Gett: The Trial of Ivane Amsalem,” in which she starred and co-directed, died April 20 at the age of 51.

Shirley Weinberg Bunis, former publisher of the Connecticut Jewish Ledger, died May 11 at her home in West Hartford at the age of 97.

Rabbi Jack H. Bloom, the first rabbi of Congregation Beth El of Fairfield, who marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, Alabama in 1965, died May 25 at the age of 83.

Rivky Berman, a Chabad emissary and Stamford native who inspired many throughout her lifelong struggle with Bloom syndrome, a genetic disease prevalent among Ashkenazic Jews, died May 29 in Durham, North Carolina at the age of 29.

David Chase, a prominent Connecticut business and philanthropist and a Holocaust survivor, died June 1 at his home in West Hartford. He was 88.

Anton Yelchin, a Russian-Jewish actor who appeared in dozens of films, such as the “Star Trek” reboot series – died after being pinned between his Jeep and a brick pillar in his driveway on June 19. He was 27.

Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate who became a leading icon of Holocaust remembrance and a global symbol of conscience, died July 2 at the age of 87.

Goldie Corash Michelson, the oldest living American and the oldest Jewish person in the world, died July 8 in Worcester, Mass., one month shy of her 114th birthday.

Jacob Neusner, one of the towering figures of 20th century American Jewish scholarhip and the son of Connecticut Jewish Ledger founder and publisher Sam Neusner z”l, died July 28 at the age of 84.

Rabbi Jerry Brieger, who served as a spiritual leader of Temple Emanuel of Greater New Haven in Orange for 30 years, died August 7 at the age of 71.

Fyvush Finkel, an Emmy Award-winning actor who began his career performing in the Yiddish theater, died August 14 at the age of 93.

Steven Hill, an Orthodox Jewish actor best known for playing a Manhattan district attorney on the hit TV series “Law & Order” died August 23 at the age of 94.

Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, a pioneer in the Jewish outreach movement and founder of the organization Hineni – earning her the nickname the “Jewish Billy Graham” – died August 23 at the age of 80.

Gene Wilder, a comedic actor known for his role in such films as “Young Frankenstein,” “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “The Producers,” died August 29 at the age of 83.

Leonard Cohen, the Canadian singer songwriter best known for the iconic song “Hallelujah,” and other Jewish-infused musical works, died Nov. 7 at the age of 82.

Ruth Gruber, an American journalist who escorted 1,000 Holocuast refugees from Europe to the United States, died Nov. 10 at the age of 105.

WE REMEMBER
We remember the 2016 Israeli victims of terrorist attacks

Jan. 1 – Alon Bakal, 26, and Shimon Ruimi, 30, are shot and killed at a New Years celebration at a local pub by an Arab-Israeli terrorist.

Jan. 17 – Dafne Meir, 38, a mother of six, was stabbed to death by a 16-year-old Palestinian terrorist outside her home.

Jan. 25 – Shlomit Krigman, 24, was stabbed to death by two terrorists while walking outside of a market.

Feb. 3 – Hadar Cohen, 19, a Jerusalem police officer, was stabbed to death when three Palestinian terorrists armed with knives, guns, and explosives, attacked a group of IDF soldiers at the Damascus Gate in the Old City.

Feb. 18 – Sergeant Tuvia Yanai Weissman, 18, and IDF soldier, was stabbed to death by two teenage Palestinian terrorists in a supermarket.

Feb. 24 – Captain Eilav Gelman, 30, was accidently shot and killed by asecurity forces tring to subdue a Palestinian attacker attempting to stab a reserve IDF Captain.

March 8 – Taylor Force, an American tourist and a U.S. Army veteran, was stabbed and killed by a Palestinian attacker at the entrance to the Jaffa port.

June 8 – Michael Feige, 58, Ido Ben Ari, 42, Mila Mishayev, 33, and Ilana Navaa, 39, were killed by two Palestinian terrorists when they opened fire in the popular Sarona Market in Tel Aviv.

June 30 – Hallel Yaffa Ariel, 3, was stabbed to death in her bed by a 19-year old Palestinian, who broke into her home.

June 30 – Rabbi Michael Mark, 40, was shot and killed by terrorists while driving his car with his wife and two of his 10 children near Mount Hebron.

Oct. 9 – Levana Melihi, 60, and Yosef Kirme, 29, were killed by a terrorist when Palestinian gunmen opened fire from their car at a light-rail stop outside of the main police station in Jerusalem.