Jean Sklar

July 10, 1929 – April 16, 2026

SERVICE DETAILS

Star of David Chapel Date: April 19, 2026 Time: 12:00 PM

CEMETERY DETAILS

New Montefiore Cemetery: 1180 Wellwood Ave., West Babylon, NY 11704

SERVICE RECORDING

VIEW RECORDING: Click Here

SHIVA DETAILS

Immediately following the service, family and friends will return to Jean’s house until 9PM, then resume there on Monday and Tuesday from 5-9P

DONATION INFORMATION

Please consider reading the book Jean wrote called “Disappeared. The book is available for free:

https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/bib269147
and https://archive.org/details/bib269147 001 001

His video testimony is available at:
https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn700045

For those that prefer hard copy, the family has copies which they can provide you. Please contact Ted.

CHARITY NAME

The United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC  

RESOURCES

• Understanding Shiva
• Chapel Directions
• Local Cemetery Information
• Yahrzeit Calendar

OBITUARY

IN LOVING MEMORY OF JEAN SKLAR

Jean Sklar, born in Metz, France, on July 10, 1929, passed away on April 16, 2026, at the
age of 96. Jean was married to the love of his life, his wife Tillie, for 56 years before she passed
away in 2010. Jean was also predeceased by his older brother Jacques Sklar and his younger
sister Paulette Barnes. Jean’s parents, his father Traitel and his mother Cecile Lea, his younger
brother Nathan and younger sister Annnette, together with many aunts, uncles and cousins who
lived in France, perished during the Holocaust. Jean survived by hiding in occupied France
during World War II. He has chronicled that part of his life in his book, Disappeared/Disparu,
and in his video testimony, both of which are available on the website of the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum. Jean is survived by his two sons and daughter and their spouses,
by seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren: Theodore Sklar and Madelyn Meltzer,
granddaughter Rebecca Sklar and her spouse, Michael Pond, great granddaughters Audrey and
Lyla Pond, William Sklar and his spouse, Sarah Sklar; Howard Sklar and Lori Sklar,
granddaughter Amanda (Sklar) Peterson and her spouse, Wyatt Peterson, granddaughter
Samantha (Sklar) Spina and her spouse, Michael Spina, great grandson Parker Spina, Marc Sklar
and his spouse, Krizia Sklar, great granddaughter Eleanor Sklar; daughter Carol (Sklar)
Nicholson and her spouse, Paul Nicholson, granddaughter Sarah Nicholson and her spouse, Jesse
Goldstein, and granddaughter Calista Nicholson,
Jean immigrated to America in 1947, with his brother Jacques to start a new life. Sister
Paulette was adopted by cousins who lived in London, England. His boat docked in New York
harbor on Saturday, November 1, 1947. On Monday morning, November 3, 1947, he reported
for work for his first job in America. That evening, he enrolled in a class to learn English. While
in France after the war, Jean was trained to be a cabinet maker in the French tradition of fine

furniture. He worked for various employers until he found his calling in the trade show industry,
where he worked as a layout and cut man responsible for the fabrication of trade show exhibits.
He also became the outside man for his employer, and he traveled to trade shows in cities
throughout the country to supervise setting up the exhibits and taking them down after the trade
shows. Jean was proud of the fact that he had a job for almost every day from when he arrived in
America until he retired in 1995 at the age of 66. During his career, Jean was active and had
leadership roles in the carpenters’ union; he was the shop steward at his employer and he rose to
become the president of the District Council of Carpenters in Suffolk County.
Jean arrived in America with $50.00 in his pocket. He and Tillie made a good life for
themselves and for their family. They purchased a house in Hauppauge, New York, in 1967,
with every last cent that they had. It was Tillie’s dream house, with large closets, four bedrooms
and a large kitchen. Jean took care of everything that the house needed, such as painting, floor
coverings, paneling, window treatments, finishing the basement and all of the landscaping. There
was nothing that he could not do when it came to any task and he was the go-to person for his
wife and children whenever anything needed to be repaired. In between working hard and taking
care of his family and his home, he found time to enjoy surfcasting at the local beaches.
Jean and Tillie enjoyed their retirement years together. They travelled the United States
and the world together, sometimes by themselves, but more often with old friends, new friends,
and family members. They cherished all of their adventures.
Jean was an accomplished conversationalist. He could talk about almost any subject and
he captivated his guests with the extent of his knowledge about the subjects that they were
discussing, including history, politics, science and current events. He had an endearing
personality and most people who met him and engaged in conversation with him liked him

immediately and remembered him. He cherished his life-long friendships and his relationships
with his extended family. He was enormously proud that his children went to college, married
and raised families and owned their own homes. His grandchildren and great grandchildren
brought him great joy and he looked forward to the times that he spent with them in person or on
FaceTime.
One of Jean’s greatest gifts to his family and friends was his long and healthy life. He
lived for 96 years and 9 months and after Tillie passed away, he lived independently, cleaning his
two-story home –the same home he purchased in 1967 — and preparing his meals until a few
weeks before he finally succumbed to the inevitable. His brilliant mind and encyclopedic
memory remained completely intact and unaffected by age. We are saddened by his passing, but
comforted by the fact that we were together for so long.