Philip Kutner

Fishl was born September 17, 1926 in New York City. At an early age, Yiddish was the primary language spoken at home. His upbringing was strict Orthodoxy, for his mother, Pearl, brought the orthodox background to the family which prevailed throughout the marriage. Pearl came to America from Tiktin (Tikocyn), Poland in 1922 at the age of 20 and in 1925 married Max Kutner who had just returned from the U.S. Cavalry and rode from Arizona to New York by horse, sleeping along the road. Fishl's father's side of the family arrived in America in 1912 from Lodz, Poland and had no interest in religion. Since Pearl's parents spoke no English, the children spoke Yiddish in their presence. This lasted for as long as the family lived in New York. Mama gave birth to 3 sons in 53 weeks, to twins, Sol and Robert arriving just a week after Fishl's first birthday. Fish was born legally blind and attended the "School for the Sighted" in the New York Public School system. In 1937, Fishl's dad bought a poultry farm a mile East of Baptistown, NJ and eight miles from Flemington-the site where the Charles Lindbergh baby kidnapping trial was held. Phil and twin brothers attended Independence School, a one-room schoolhouse having only seven other children in 1st through 8th grade. The school had no electricity, a pot-belly stove for heat, and no running water. With separate outhouses for boys and girls and the entire administration, faculty, and support staff consisted of only one teacher. Because Fishl came from New York City, academically he was advanced compared to the farm children and skipped the sixth grade. At sixteen, Fishl graduated from Frenchtown H.S, in Frenchtown, NJ, right on the Delaware River and the place of the devastating "hundred-year flood". He received a four-year tuition scholarship and studied Agriculture majoring in Animal Husbandry and Poultry Nutrition on a 4-year scholarship at Rutgers University, which made attending college possible. To cut expenses, he shared a tiny room attached to the chicken coop. Every 4 hours they took turns with his roommate, Jim Baldini, adding wood to the fire to keep the chickens warm. The two remained close throughout life. For breakfast, he waited on tables at the girl's college. For lunch, he was a dishwasher at a Hungarian deli. He had 15 minutes to eat as much as he could. Then, he would walk fast to his next class. At college, he was on the Rutgers Debate Team and participated in the national debate tournament at Western Michigan State University and was nationally ranked. After graduation, Fishl wooed and married Sally Buzzel, whose mother owned a tiny wooden grocery store and whose father peddled produce by horse. Sally did not want to live on the farm. FishI went back to college to receive his teaching credentials. He taught vocational agriculture at Lambertville H.S. for 3 years, after which the couple returned to the family farm. In August 1955, a massive hurricane hit the area and with the ensuing 100-year flood, wiped out the poultry farm with the loss of 10,000 Leghorn breeders. To make a living for Sally and now three children, Shelley, Ken and Debbie, ages 4, 2 and 3- months, Fishl went back to teaching. However, the high school agricultural programs were disappearing, and he became a general science teacher at newly opened River Dell Regional Junior H.S. and also coached the chess team. Fishl received his Master's degree in Teaching from Montclair State Teacher's College and in 1966 - 67 pursued a doctorate in Education from Columbia University. Demonstrations on campus caused his course credits to elapse within the time needed to complete his degree. His studies focused on petrology, oceanography, historical geomorphology , meteorology, mineralogy and nuclear radiation, for which he served as a certified trainer on the emergency response commission. In 1964, he was awarded a grant from the National Academy for the Advancement of Sciences and went on Sabbatical to a program at University of Boulder in Colorado, and then a year long study in geomorphology and geophysics where he co-authored ESCP - Earth Science College Prep textbook, while studying advanced geomorphology at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. He attended geology programs at Cornell University while Sally stayed behind with the three children. Fishl served as President of the River Dell Regional Teachers Association, for years was President of Conservative congregation Temple Beth Sholom in Fair Lawn, NJ, Founder and President of the Fair Lawn Israeli Investment Club and Vice President of ZOA (Zionist Organization of America). In 1984, Fishl retired for the first time and together with Sally left their 3 children and grandchild on the East Coast, moving to "sunny California". Here he worked in his brother Sol's construction-claims and litigation-support firm. After ten years, his work began to interfere with his volunteering, so he retired a second time. In California new hobbies and interests were pursued. Sally and Fishl became co-presidents of the OT AM B'nai B'rith couples unit and editor of its newsletter, Tam Tov. Pursuits in genealogy and storytelling followed with training in Tennessee at the NAPPS (National Association for the Preservation and Propagation of Storytelling). In 1994 it changed its name to National Storytelling Network. Fishl was active in the community, training and serving as a mediator. He handled caseloads in the San Mateo County Small Claims Court, as well as the PCRC, Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center. His published mediation articles include: The Role of Disengagement in Mediation and The Use of Storyteller as Alternative Dispute Resolution to Conflict. Fishl became active in a local affiliate of the American Council of the Blind (ACB), the San Mateo County Council of the Blind (SMCCB https://smccb.org/), serving as President and website administrator. This work led to his being appointed as a commissioner of the San Mateo County Council on Disabilities, where he focused on emergency preparedness. His published articles on visual impairment include: ACB Chapter Websites--Make One, Is He or Is He Not, Chapter Leadership, and One Club's Operating Procedure, Failing Sight and the Family Plight, I Know or Eye No. Sholem Aleichem's 75th yortsayt rekindled his interest in Yiddish and then organized a celebration of Sholem Aleichem's life for the Jewish Community Centers in the Greater San Francisco Bay area. A single page Anglo-Yiddish newsletter of "What's going on in Yiddish in the San Francisco Bay, Der Bay, was created. It grew to 16 pages and was published for 25 years. During this time, the Der Bay website was home to the International Association of Yiddish Clubs Inc. which hosted 17 international Yiddish conferences in the U.S. and Canada. The Yiddish Network (TYN) was started in 1991 and grew to 460 contacts in every state in the U.S. and 35 other countries, publishing lists of Yiddish teachers, Yiddish clubs, translators and Klezmer bands. Fishl was a zamler for The Yiddish Book Center (https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/), and active in Der Arbeter-Ring (https://www.circle.org/), serving as Chairman of the Northern California District and West Coast Representative on the National Executive Board. He was Co-founder and served as President of IAYC (https://yiddish.world/), the International Association of Yiddish Clubs. Presentations followed at IAYC conferences, 29th Conference of CAJE, Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education (https://www.newcaje.org/#portfolio), held at Hofstra University, B'nai B'rith Women National Convention, and Holocaust groups. Speaking engagements also included schools, senior centers, health fairs, B'nai B'rith, temples, and to the HLAA Hearing Loss Association of America for the hearing impaired. Fishl represented the SMCCB, on the County Association of Nonprofits. His community service also included being on the San Mateo Community College Committee on Community Involvement, initiating policies on emergency preparedness for the disabled. Ninety articles on Mama were published in a book entitled Hrabina of Hunterdon (https://pubhtml5.com/myjf/upmw/Hrabina_of_Hunterdon%3A_Mama_Stories/82), and appear on the Der Bay website (https://derbay.org/). It is the title of one of the stories. Hrabina means "Countess" in Polish. The title was used by a Polish hired hand on their poultry farm in Hunterdon County, NJ. The book was released at the 13th conference of the International Association of Yiddish Clubs, in Millbrae, California, for which he served as Conference Chair. Prior to the pandemic, Fishl led the Palo Alto Yiddish Club and joined the Foster City Yiddish Club, both in northern California. With the onset of the pandemic, a weekly virtual gathering, FYG, Fishl's Yiddish Group was established, featuring presentations, discussion, music and shared resources. For more information, visit FYG Fishl's Yiddish Group website: https://ilovefyg.org/. Fishl is survived by his wife, Sally (nee Buzzel) of 76 ½ years. They met when she was 13 ... she had a crush on him (he was 15) and was a Jewish youth group leader and saw each other every week; brother: Sam Kutner. Daughter, Rochelle Kabran, Son, Dr. Kenneth Kutner and Daughter, Debbie Herman (Steve Herman). Grandchildren: Melanie Kashi (Benjamin), Rachel Pires (Andre), Jeffrey Herman (Elizabeth) and Kaylin Kutner. Greatgrandchildren: Lyla Kashi, Lucas and Marina Pires; loving nieces and nephews. Philip and Sally Kutner lived in San Mateo California for 40 years and Philip will rest at Temple Emanuel Cemetary in Oak Hill Burial in Lakeland Florida.

Philip Kutner

September 17, 1926 - February 13, 2024