Dr. Felix Garfunkel has just self-published his memoir, From Czernowitz: A Life in Three Continents, Memories of a Survivor. In it, he relates how his childhood in Romania was shattered during the Holocaust, how he survived a ghetto, slave labor, forced marches, and ultimately, a concentration camp. He and his wife, Dr. Erika Garfunkel, also a survivor, met and married in Ecuador where he studied medicine and she studied dentistry. In 1958 they relocated to Ohio where they rebuilt their lives. Felix dedicated the book to his parents, Frieda and Marcus Garfunkel.

Among the honorees at the 37th Annual Friendship Dinner of the National Conference for Community and Justice will be Temple Israel’s Rabbi David M. Sofian, who will receive an NCCJ Humanitarian Award. The dinner will be held on Oct. 27 at the Sinclair Ponitz Center. NCCJ aims to eliminate bias, bigotry and discrimination through education and advocacy. Larry Burick is a chair for the dinner and committee members include Beth Adelman, Elaine Bettman, Beverly Louis, and Gayle Moscowitz.

Honorees for this year’s Beth Abraham Synagogue Donor Dinner are Angela and Joel Frydman, who will be feted for their service to the congregation on Nov. 9. Dinner chairs are Melinda and Bill Doner and Susan and Stanley Katz.

Rachel Wilson has landed the lead role in Dayton Theatre Guild’s production of Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire. Rachel will play Margaret Walsh, a lifelong resident of a blue collar Boston neighborhood. Good People was voted best play in 2011 by the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards. The show runs weekends Oct. 3-19.

Les Misérables productions have played in 42 countries including Israel. And now Dayton’s own Courtney Cummings will appear in the role of Éponine in the Dayton Playhouse and Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra production of Les Mis. The show runs Oct. 24 and 25 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. at The Dayton Masonic Center.

Amanda Cohn, granddaughter of Natalie and Franklin Cohn, received the President’s Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence for the 2013-14 school year at Great Neck South Middle School in New York.

Send your Kvelling items to Rachel at kvellingcorner@gmail.com.

To read the complete October 2014 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.