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| Joe and Beth Ginsberg in 1994 |
Beth (1926?-2015) was the widow of my father's cousin Joe Ginsberg (1919-2001). Joe was related on both sides of my father's family. Joe's mother Anna Feinberg Ginsberg (1891-1950) was my grandfather Max's only full sibling. Joe's father Hyman Ginsberg (1880-1972) was my grandmother Mae's maternal uncle.
As such, the Ginsbergs and Feinbergs were especially well acquainted. Joe and Beth were close friends of my Aunt Betty (1922-2014) and Uncle Jack Goodside (1918-2001). It's remarkable that Joe died about half a year after Jack and that Beth died about half a year after Betty.
Dad also recalls that Joe was the "first draft registrant in Des Moines ... to volunteer for Army service." The record shows he enlisted in November 1940, over a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He left service as a First Lieutenant with a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. According to his Omaha World Herald obituary, he enlisted "at the request of an Iowa judge who said that as a minority, Ginsberg would set an example for others to join up." The obituary noted that the Bronze Star was from the Battle of the Bulge.
Joe and Beth married in 1947. They moved to Omaha in the mid-1950s after briefly living in Davenport, Iowa. After initially working as a supervisor at a Hinky Dinky supermarket, he launched American Service Corporation, "sellers of innovative products," in 1964.
By that time, Beth had already started to make a name for herself as a dance instructor. Not her real name, but as Beth Gaynes. Beth, who had studied at the American Ballet Theatre School in New York, taught dance in Davenport and opened a dance studio in 1957 in Omaha's Center Mall. She ultimately advanced to the top of her profession, serving as national president of Dance Masters of America (1978-1980). The Omaha World Herald remembered her for choreographing the Omaha Press Club's annual show for "nearly three decades." This sign is from the 2013 auction of the studio's assets.
Joe was also well-noted for his work with young people. In a city famous for Boys' Town, he was a long-time youth advisor at Beth El Synagogue, Boy Scouts of America, and the Omaha Home for Boys.
When Dance Masters of America announced "Beth Gaynes'" passing, two of the comments understandably wished "prayers for her family." The well-wishers probably did not know that Joe and Beth's only son Joseph Alvin "Jay" Ginsberg (1959-1986) died long ago in a tragic accident.
Nor are there Bernstein nieces or nephews to pray for. Beth's older brother Seymour W. Bernstein (1916-1958) was still living with their mother when he died. Her other brother Benjamin Albin Bernstein (1919-1943), who listed his occupation as "actor" when he enlisted in 1942, died serving with the Air Force.
My dear cousin Jay died from a fall. His middle name Alvin was likely in memory of his late Uncle Albin, who most likely was shot down. The day Albin died, October 14, 1943, is known as "Black Thursday" because 600 Americans and other England-based allied airmen were lost on a mission to bomb a ball bearings factory at Schweinfurt, Germany.
Beth, Seymour and Albin's father, Joseph E. Bernstein (1889-1950), died one week before the end of the war in Europe. And sure enough, Beth's mother Pearl (1891-1977) died less than a year after Betty Goodside's mother.
Joe Ginsberg's family was almost equally star-crossed. One sibling was stillborn, and both Helen and Milton died in early childhood. Only brother Jerome "Jack" Ginsberg (1914-1965) and Joe reached adulthood. Jack's son Stanley M. Ginsberg is the only known descendant of Hyman and Anna Ginsberg. Stanley, if you read this, I would like to meet you.
