Michele Stahl Sumka, wife of Howard Sumka, died on Friday, September 25, 2026, 14 Tishri 5787, at the age of 82 after a long struggle with dementia. She is also survived by her daughters Shoshanna Sumka (David Weinreich) and Rabbi Ilana Ruth Sumka (Siebrecht Vanhooren), their children Naomi Weinreich and Jacob Sumka Vanhooren, and sister Ellen (Leonard) Parker. She was predeceased by her parents Louis and Rosalie Choper Stahl. The funeral was held at Tifereth Israel Congregation on Monday, September 28, 2026, at 10:30am.

Michele Stahl was born on September 24, 1944, in New Brunswick, NJ and grew up in Woodbridge, NJ. She graduated from Smith College in 1966 and later that summer, she and Howard married. All her life, her primary commitments were to her family; to Judaism, especially through her service to TI; and to her career as a teacher.

In the first 11 years of their marriage, they lived successively in Chicago, Chapel Hill, NC, and Lawrence, KS. In Chicago, Michele earned a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from the Erikson Institute of Loyola University. Over her career, she directed a number of day care centers, was instrumental in creating Tifereth Israel’s center in the late 80s, and was the Director of Child Development Programs at the DC JCC from 1997 to 2002. In between, she tutored early childhood education students for four years in Nairobi, Kenya.

Her husband’s foreign service career took her to Nairobi; Sarajevo; and Tel Aviv. In all of those places, she pursued her love of and commitment to Judaism, finding community in the most unlikely places.

After returning to Washington, she reengaged in Tifereth Israel where she served as the librarian for many years. She participated in many programs of Aleph, the Alliance for Jewish Renewal. She studied Women’s Wisdom and wise ageing, which she taught at TI. She also completed the Aleph program as a Spiritual Director.

Perhaps her greatest pleasures in life came from watching her daughters mature into wonderful, nurturing mothers and socially committed professionals – Shoshanna in international and experiential education and Ilana as an ordained Jewish Renewal rabbi. She lived a full, adventurous, and productive life. She will be sorely missed.