To learn more about TJF Community Impact Grants, contact Ann Swindell at aswindell@tjfva.org.

Prue and Mike Salasky
50th Anniversary

Michael Salasky was a law student at William & Mary, and Prue was on a graduate exchange from Exeter University in England, working on a master’s degree in U.S. history, when they met in the campus coffee bar. Mike knew the law student Prue was with at the time – but that didn’t stop him. “I thought I could do better than him, and it turned out I did,” he recalls.

Also, at the front of his memory from that day is the first time he heard her full name, Prudence, noting he “felt sorry for anyone who had to go through life with it.” Pity aside, Mike lent her a paper he had written on Herbert Marcuse, and that’s how it started.

Prue prefers to call it “a youthful mistake.”

After dating for about two years, they married when Prue was 23 and Mike was 26, both nervous.

They came from very different places. Mike grew up in Norfolk in a large extended family and attended Beth El. Prue grew up on a farm in the south of England, 60 miles from London, attending the local parish church. “We really have absolutely nothing in common,” Mike says, “except that we both happen to have studied Russian.” Their working knowledge of the language came in handy when their daughters were small. “We could speak Russian and they didn’t know what we were talking about,” he muses.

Mike was a solo practitioner who worked six days a week for decades. He retired in 2020 but still maintains his license. Prue taught history, Latin, and ESL at schools and colleges throughout Tidewater, including Norfolk Academy, Tidewater Community College, and the Williams School. She spent the bulk of her career as a writer and editor at the Daily Press in Newport News, much of it part-time while raising their three daughters. After retiring, she earned a master’s in linguistics. A Fulbright scholarship took her to Bulgaria to teach English, though COVID cut the stay short. Today she produces a linguistics podcast, languagingHR, and Mike is immersed in the study of music. Mike is quick to brag on her impressive professional and academic careers. “She can blow the horn for me,” he says, “but I’ll blow the horn for her.”

Their daughters, Julia, Charlotte, and Vanessa, are all married with children. Julia lives in London, Charlotte in Dubai, and Vanessa in Philadelphia. Of their seven grandchildren, ages 7 months to 9 years, five are boys.

“As parents we spent countless hours on soccer fields,” Prue says, and they have savored the Bat mitzvahs, graduations, weddings, and births. They have also weathered sorrows, including the loss of parents.

For years, the Salaskys celebrated the Jewish holidays with Mike’s large local family, rotating among households. Since the children and their cousins moved away, gatherings are rarer, so the couple has become flexible. They savor any time together, “whether on the beach or at a seder,” and have enjoyed attending services with their children and grandchildren in Philadelphia and London.

What do they admire in each other? Mike calls Prue brilliant, independent, funny, and charming. Prue appreciates how self-sufficient (or in other words, stubborn) Mike is. He makes her laugh and lets her be her own person without judgment, and his curiosity means she learns from him about topics she might not otherwise pursue.

“We have been fortunate in many, many ways,” Prue says, “because when you make a decision at age 23, you simply cannot know what life will throw your way.”

June and Bo Saks
50th anniversary

June Saks was born and raised in Norfolk, while Bo was from Gadsden, Alabama, having moved to Richmond to be near his mother and stepfather. June and Bo were introduced by mutual friends, sharing small-town roots and a preference for informality over big-city life. When they began dating, Bo moved to Norfolk, where they settled.

Much of their courtship, June says, took place at Norfolk General Hospital, where she was recovering from back surgery.

June recalls their wedding day as “a beautiful April day” – cool but full of springtime. Friends and family came from out of town, including several of Bo’s college friends, who are still close with him today. “There was just a very warm, loving feeling,” she says.

Bo became part of June’s family right away. She has two brothers, and Bo easily fit in as the third. He worked in her family’s business and, she says, “did it beautifully.”

June’s paternal grandfather was one of the early leaders of Ohef Sholom Temple, and her mother, who moved from New York after marrying her father, became devoted to it, too. June volunteered at the temple and the Sisterhood, taught in the religious school, and served on both the temple and Sisterhood boards of directors. Bo supported all of it, handling carpools and play dates, and being home when the kids arrived on nights she had meetings. She also volunteered a lot at Norfolk General, which Bo supported just as fully.

The couple has two children, Lauren, who lives in Washington, D.C., and Michael, who returned from the West Coast to Richmond with his two sons, now 11 and 9.

The Saks’ are a sports-minded family. Bo attended the University of Alabama, and the rest of the family has adopted the Crimson Tide. The grandsons play several sports, swim, and fish.

Holidays were always a big part of family life. June’s parents hosted Rosh Hashanah, and she and Bo hosted the Break Fast. After 38 years in their home in Colony Point, near Wards Corner, they moved to Aviva Pembroke, where there isn’t room for large gatherings, so they now celebrate with friends at the family dinners there. “I loved having family and extended family to our home,” June says. “I miss that tremendously.” Still, she adds, “life goes on.”

According to June, there is a lot to admire about Bo. “He is a nice man, a good man who loves people,” she says. He stays in touch with his friends and has long helped newcomers to Norfolk get acclimated. She also treasures his continued love and support for her family.

The greatest gift of their marriage? “Family,” June says. “Being together, supporting one another through the good times and the bad times.” There have been “glitches,” she adds, and things aren’t always rosy, “but knowing that you have that support for one another” makes the difference.

Rachael and Michael Nusbaum
10th anniversary

Rachael grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, and Michael is a Norfolk native. They met in Nashville at M.L.Rose, a restaurant and bar, during March Madness.

“I asked his roommate, ‘What’s a field goal in basketball?’” she says. Michael was the one who answered, and he promptly asked for her number. “The rest is history!”

Early in their dating, a friend offered some reassurance. Michael’s sister had gone to college with one of Rachael’s oldest and dearest friends, and when that friend realized who Rachael was dating, she told her, “Whether this relationship lasts a week, a month, a few years or forever, Michael Nusbaum is the type of person who will show you how you deserve to be treated.”

Their wedding was “a blowout,” Rachael says. Almost every guest they invited attended, and the couple felt “the support and outpouring of love” as they began their marriage. Soon after, they relocated to Norfolk and bought their first house together. Rachael works as a travel agent for Seabreeze Travel and Michael works for S.L. Nusbaum Insurance.

The Jewish community welcomed the Nusbaums “with open arms” and has remained an important part of their village, they say. During her first years in Norfolk, Rachael helped Ohef Sholom Temple with its Harold Grinspoon initiative, and Michael now serves on the temple’s board of directors. They are excited for their son, Harding Parkes, (he’s called Parkes) and turns 3 in February, to grow up at the temple.

The couple waited seven years after moving to Norfolk to have Parkes. “We grew up together during those years,” she says, and Parkes’s birth in 2024 brought them closer still, as they “saw sides of one another we hadn’t before.” His arrival is also what they’re most proud of as a couple, along with the little man he is growing into. Their own family traditions are just beginning to take shape. What matters most, she says, is quality time with family, whether on a holiday or at a yearly tradition.

When things get hard, they return to their core values. “We are each other’s very best friends,” she says. “We are each other’s biggest cheerleaders, and we have the same hopes, dreams, and goals for one another, our life, our son.” The key to a happy and lasting marriage, in her view, is communication and respect.

They marked their 10th anniversary with a Rhine River cruise, and they’re looking forward to “many more adventures with each other and our family for many, many years to come.”

Ellie Cesario and Kevin Keltz
5th anniversary

Though they’ve been married five years, Ellie Cesario and Kevin Keltz met on Saturday, April 3, 2004, at the opening reception of an art show at Studio One-O-Seven in Norfolk. Ellie was one of the exhibiting artists. “Standing by my artwork and looking at one of my own paintings,” she recalls, someone behind her asked, “Have you tried the cheesecake? It’s delicious!” She turned around, met Kevin, and the two talked for the rest of the evening. They traded information, and soon they had their first date.

Kevin grew up in Miami Beach, Florida, and came to Norfolk in 1980 to become director of Residence Life at Old Dominion University, a job he held for 17 years. Ellie grew up in Uniondale, on Long Island, and moved to Virginia Beach in 1999. She was a public school teacher who later became a counselor. Now, they are both retired.

Ellie says she knew it was special as she got to know Kevin and was impressed by how genuine he is in his actions and relationships. Kevin says he knew Ellie was the one because he was willing to drive 45 minutes, almost to Pungo in Virginia Beach, for a date.

They dated for 17 years before marrying. “We joke about how it took a while for us to be sure,” Ellie says. They keep separate homes – Kevin’s in Norfolk and Ellie’s in Virginia Beach; he spends half the week in each, which gives both time for their own activities and for the friends Kevin has had for many years.

They were married five years ago, at the height of COVID, in a backyard with a small group of friends. They couldn’t invite everyone they would have liked, but “it was beautiful,” says Ellie, and a group effort: friends handled the flowers, food, photographs, and decorations, and made the chuppah by hand.

Since then, milestones have included a trip to Kevin’s hometown of Miami Beach, where Ellie saw where he grew up and met friends he has kept since childhood, and many outdoor art shows together “in all kinds of weather.” They also enjoy group activities with friends, including a movie of the month and holiday and neighborhood celebrations.

Ellie admires how Kevin is a people person who is open-minded, kind, and gentle, with a devotion to family, friends, and animals, has a great sense of humor, and a talent for planning trips. Kevin, for his part, says, “Aside from her physical beauty, what I admire most about Ellie is her generosity, honesty, patience, willingness to go out of her way to help others, and her multiple talents.” Those include art, dancing, gardening, and cooking, and “she knows more about working on cars than I do.”

They both love the National Parks and take at least two trips a year. Kevin plans where they stay and finds the best places to eat, while Ellie drives. Kevin also meets faithfully with a coffee group, and the two enjoy watching college football and spending time with each other’s friends.

They marked their fifth anniversary by attending the milestone anniversary service at Ohef Sholom Temple. Looking ahead, they say, it’s about continuing to communicate with each other and spending time together.

Oren was introduced by Vice Admiral Herm Shelanski, USN (Ret.), who is immediate past president of Congregation Beth El. The two men have a long and deep friendship, which began when Oren was part of a formal delegation that came aboard the USS Harry S. Truman on which Shelanski served as the commanding officer, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. They also recently worked together in Verdun, France, for Operation Benjamin, an initiative to identify the graves of Jewish American and Allied service members from World War I and World War II who were mistakenly buried under incorrect religious markers and replace those markers with Stars of David.

Shelanski moderated a Q & A session after Oren’s talk with questions from the audience. Several questions touched on the then upcoming election in Israel, where Benjamin Netanyahu, who has served as Israel’s prime minister for 19 years over three separate periods, the most recent one dating from Dec. 2022, faced stiff opposition.

While Americans, both Jewish and not, are very concerned about the War in Gaza and the situation in the West Bank, neither of those were central issues in the upcoming election, Oren said. Perhaps surprisingly, the war with Iran is also not a source of controversy. Rather, he said, two other issues dominate Israelis’ concerns: Will there be an independent state commission to investigate the failures that led to the October 7 attack? And, secondly, will the nation end the exemption on military service for the ultra-orthodox Jews?

Regardless of the outcome of elections in Israel and the United States, Jews in both countries need to understand “that we are one people,” Oren said. “Our destinies are tied up with one another. Together we can overcome anything. We are the ultimate resilient people.”

Esther Diskin is a member of the Jewish Community Relations Council and serves on the board of Ohef Sholom Temple.

To learn more about the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Shinshinim and opportunities to connect with Israel, visit JewishVA.org or contact Nofar Trem at NTrem@UJFT.org.

team. In looking around the room at the various generations and multi-generations (moms and daughters) present, Klebanoff spoke about creating a lasting legacy. She turned toward her mother, Ann Copeland, and in that quiet moment, the meaning of her words became especially personal. Mother and daughter shared an emotional glance – both visibly moved. It was a beautiful, living example of L’Dor V’Dor and the passing of Jewish values, traditions, generosity, and commitment from one generation to the next.

In Tidewater’s remarkable Jewish community, a special bond of sisterhood – women who celebrate one another, support one another, and stand together in support of the community they love – clearly exists. Each woman brings her own story and legacy to this sisterhood, and together they are creating something even greater.

Carin Simon is director of advancement at Strelitz International Academy.

The images stayed with him until he decided he needed to be a part of the efforts. By 4 am on Thursday, Sept. 13, he had left a note for his parents and was on the road, driving north to New York.

When he arrived at Ground Zero, the scene was unlike anything he had imagined. “It was very loud,” he recalls. “Generators, steam, people, vehicles, dozens of cranes.”

The rubble pile rose from street level in places to roughly 75 feet high. Steel beams that formed the basic framework of the towers – massive pieces of solid steel, roughly a foot square – had been twisted and bent, like copper wire. And then there was the smell.

“The entire area smelled like someone lit a stack of newspaper and doused it with formaldehyde.”

At times, he could see glowing red steel deep inside the pile. Flames remained visible in nearby buildings and in portions of the rubble that rescuers could not reach.

Standing on Church Street, about 25 feet from where one of the towers had just been, he looked at the remains. The buildings had fallen “cleanly and eerily on top of themselves.”

But the scale of destruction was not of concern at this point – Ashe, and many other volunteers, were thinking about the possibility that someone might still be alive amongst the rubble.

“It truly felt like SAR,” he says, referring to search and rescue. “We all had that urgency.” Ultimately, though, the group discovered human remains, and calls moved down the line for medical personnel to come take control.

“It felt very sudden and sad and it temporarily sapped us,” he says. “I had truly thought we were going to find people we could help.”

The mission continued, though, as the nature of the work became clearer. Ashe points to his Jewish background as the driving force behind his determination to help, no matter how grim the situation turned out to be.

“Jews ignore religion and ignore danger when help is needed,” he says. “We take action and we care for others. That’s the mindset of Judaism.” And the threat of danger was imminent.

Three blasts from a horn meant falling debris was coming and everyone should take cover. At first, people tried to move when they heard the signal. But the debris was so extensive and movement through the site so slow that they quickly realized there was often nowhere to run.

In one instance, Ashe says he heard a sound like a cannon – which he later identified to be a large piece of glass falling from one of the buildings near the Millennium Hilton. The sound startled everyone, and then the three horn blasts came.

Nobody moved or spoke; instead, they just looked at one another and waited.

“We seemed to communicate that we were ready to help if anyone was hit by something,” Ashe says.

That said, the lasting memory of those days for Ashe isn’t pain, but gratitude. The work at Ground Zero was dark and sad. Volunteers came face to face with death, destruction and danger at a scale few people can comprehend – but in spite of it, he was just grateful to be there.

“I think every person in America wanted to take some tangible action,” he says. “And I was fortunate to have that opportunity.”