Ms. Sura Wolff Wengrow

November 28, 1908 - August 8, 2016

Sura Wolff Wengrow, a native of Allendale, SC, passed away at her home with her son, Arnold Wengrow, in Asheville, NC, on August 8, 2016. She was the daughter of Henry Wolff and Rachel Pearlstine Wolff of Allendale. She had an older sister, Cecile, and a younger brother, Louis Michael. All are deceased. She graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1928 and at the time of her death at age 107 she was the oldest living Carolina graduate. She married Sam Wengrow of Columbia, SC, in 1929, and they lived in Allendale, where they had three children, Reberta (now Reberta W. Karesh), Henry Ray, and Arnold. The family moved to Columbia, SC, in 1950, where Ms. Wengrow became active at the Beth Shalom Synagogue. She was president of the Sisterhood three times and ran the gift shop for many years. She received the synagogue's Mogen David Service Award and the Light of Torah Award from the Southern Region of the Women's League for Conservative Judaism. She received an entry in "A Portion of the People: Three Hundred Years of Southern Jewish Life," and an oral history is at the South Carolina Jewish Historical Society: http://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/lcdl/catalog/lcdl:11847. Ms. Wengrow received a certificate in library science from the University of South Carolina in 1961 and worked until she was 75 as the supervisor of the Branch 5 Library at Fort Jackson. She and Sam Wengrow were active in the Democratic Party of South Carolina and campaigned for Robert McNair in his races for lieutenant governor and governor. Sam Wengrow died in 1970. Ms. Wengrow is survived by children, Reberta W. Karesh of Camden, SC, Henry Ray Wengrow (Jean Brock) of Jacksonville, FL, Arnold Wengrow of Asheville, three grandchildren, David M. Karesh and his partner Will Cooper of Asheville, Carl Karesh of Camden, SC, Rebecca Wengrow Fixel of Jacksonville, FL, and her great-granddaughter, Abigail Fixel of Jacksonville. A grandson, Richard Wolff Karesh of Camden, SC, predeceased her. Graveside services will be held at the Whaley Street Cemetery of Beth Shalom Synagogue in Columbia, SC, on Wednesday, August 10, at 3:30 p.m., Rabbi Jonathan Case officiating. Morris Funeral Home, 304 Merrimon Ave, is handling arrangements in Asheville, and Dunbar Funeral Home, 3926 Devine St, is handling services in Columbia. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Congregation Beth Israel, 229 Murdoch Ave, Asheville, NC 28804; Beth Shalom Synagogue, 5827 N. Trenholm Road, Columbia, SC 29206; Jewish Family Services of WNC, 417 Biltmore Ave, Asheville, NC 28801; or Council on Aging of Buncombe County, 46 Sheffield Cir, Asheville, NC 28803.