Albert Smolover
Smolover: Community leader Albert Smolover died from complications of pneumonia on January 15, just a month shy of his 90th birthday. A man filled with music, passion, and a zest for life, he was born in Pittsburgh in the Hill District in 1923 and graduated from Schenley High School. When his country called, he served for three years in India, Burma, and China, assembling trucks in India and driving them over the Burma Road. After the war he was eager to resume civilian life, first working in his parents’ grocery store and then opening his own. His marriage to the late Irene Katz in 1946 was followed by the births of their four children: son Ilan, daughter Miriam, son Charles, and daughter Sara. Their growing family led him to make a career change, and he went into the insurance business in 1955. He became a prominent member of the insurance community, earning the degree of Chartered Life Underwriter and achieving life membership in the Million Dollar Roundtable. Albert Smolover’s outstanding record as a Jewish community activist began in 1946, when he became a member of B’nai B’rith. It was not long before he took on the role of president of the Pittsburgh Council. He was intimately involved in the College of Jewish Studies under the late Dr. Aharon Kessler and served as its associate chairman. His commitment to Jewish education led him to the United Jewish Federation’s Education Committee and to the presidency of the School for Advanced Jewish Studies. His lifetime love affair with all things Jewish followed a parallel track at Congregation Beth Shalom, where he served as a member of the board and as synagogue president. In addition, he worked tirelessly with the United Jewish Federation staff to create the Synagogue-Federation Relations Committee. He organized the Synagogue Council of Allegheny County and served as president of the Western Pennsylvania Region of the United Synagogue, as well as serving more than 20 years on its national board. Smolover was instrumental in bringing the Solomon Schechter Day School model to the city, whose Community Day School thrives as a testament to his zeal and commitment to Jewish education. After Irene’s untimely death from cancer in 1980, he had the good fortune to be introduced by mutual friends to Anita Lopatin, whom he married in 1998 and with whom he spent the rest of his life in loving companionship. They shared many interests, not the least of which was their love of dancing. The Smolovers attended classes at CMU, where Albert pursued his interest in writing poetry, as well as at the Agency for Jewish Learning, where he maintained his commitment to Jewish culture. Albert Smolover was the beloved father of four children, grandfather of eight, and great-grandfather of two, also, stepfather to Jody Bach, Billy Lopatin (Rebecca Litman) and step-grandfather to six and step-great grandfather to eleven.
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