June 24, 2015

Marty Mintz

Marty Mintz was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1944, and spent his early childhood on New Lots Avenue, living above a cleaning store and playing kick-the-can in the alley with neighborhood friends. His father was a traveling salesman in the millinery trade, and his mother was a stay-at-home mom. His family had deep ties to New York's garment industry and its labor movement, including grandparents who worked in a ladies' belt factory and were part of the social reforms of the 1930s. His grandparents came to America from Russia, and one grandmother read the Yiddish newspaper the Forward. Marty attended Brooklyn Technical High School, commuting two hours each way by subway, and when his father died during his senior year he went to work as a junior draftsman.

Marty attended night school for many years, eventually earning his bachelor's degree in sociology in 1976. He met his wife, Barbara, at Queens College evening school, and the couple married two years later, settling first in Flushing and then on eastern Long Island, where they raised two sons. When the local economy soured in the mid-1970s, Marty answered an advertisement and moved the family to Monroe, Louisiana, in 1978, where they found a warm, small Jewish community. About a year and a half later, opportunity drew them to Dallas, and they made their home in Richardson. Marty spent his career in architectural and structural engineering, working his way up to associate at the firm HKS before being laid off during the 2008-2009 downturn and moving into retirement.

In Dallas, Marty and Barbara became active members of Temple Shalom, teaching Sunday school and adult B'nai Mitzvah classes for many years. Barbara served twice as sisterhood president and sat twice on the national board of the Union for Reform Judaism, while Marty served on committees, the board, and in the brotherhood. He was the first adult advisor to the Kosher Kids Cafe and served on the board of the early Dallas Jewish coalition for the homeless that helped create the Vogel Alcove day care center for homeless families, where he continued to volunteer. Barbara lived with breast cancer for 22 years and died after 40 years of marriage. With encouragement from Rabbi Robert Jackowski, Marty later joined Temple Emanu-El, remarried, and remained active in community life. His advice to his four grandchildren is simple: be a mensch.

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