Sonia Garin, of Chevy Chase and formerly of Greenbelt, passed away on Oct. 31. She was 102. Sonia was born on Feb. 11, 1920, in Braunschweig, Germany. Her parents were Meier and Esther Witkowski, and her sister was Jenni Klein, formerly of Bethesda.
She survived the Holocaust by escaping to pre-state Israel in 1936 as part of the Youth Aliyah program. She lived on Kibbutz Tel Yosef and later moved to Tel Aviv. During World War II she worked for the British Army as a kitchen manager and eventually became the general manager of an officer’s club in Jerusalem.
She later reunited with her family in New York, and moved to Greenbelt in 1949, helping to build the synagogue Mishkan Torah along with her husband, Robert. Sonia is survived by her children, Eva Garin (Jim Cowan) of Greenbelt and Michael Garin (Mardie Millit) of New York City; and her grandchildren, Bobby Garin, Ari Garin and Ethan Cowan. She was predeceased by Robert Garin, her husband of 46 years. Donations may be made to the American Technion Society (ats.org).
