Dorah Sterne (1896 – April 9, 1994), born Dorah Heyman, was an American clubwoman and philanthropist.
Dorah Sterne | |
|---|---|
 Dorah Sterne, from the 1919 yearbook of Smith College | |
| Born | Dorah Heyman 1896 Atlanta, Georgia |
| Died | April 9, 1994 Birmingham, Alabama |
| Occupation(s) | Civic leader, philanthropist, clubwoman |
| Spouse | Mervyn H. Sterne |
Early life
editDorah Heyman was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the daughter of Arthur Heyman and Minna Simon Heyman. Both of her parents were born in the American South. Her father was a lawyer.[1] She graduated from Smith College in 1919.[2]
Career
editIn Birmingham, Alabama after she married, Sterne was involved with the League of Women Voters, and the Birmingham Little Theater.[3] She served as commissioner of the Birmingham Girl Scout Council,[4] president of the Birmingham branch of the American Association of University Women,[5][6] and president of the Birmingham chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women.[1] During World War II, the Sternes sponsored families of German Jewish refugees, and helped them settle in Alabama.[7][8] The Sternes' philanthropic interests extended to libraries, museums, hospitals, mental health, and civil rights in Birmingham.[9] Dorah Sterne took particular interest in prison reform, serving on the 1948 Prison Investigating Committee,[10] and arranging for radios for women prisoners.[11]
Sterne gave an oral history interview to the Birmingham Public Library in 1985.[2] That same year, she was presented with the Smith College Medal, as a distinguished alumna.[12]
Personal life
editIn 1922,[13] Dorah Heyman married banker Mervyn Hayden Sterne (1892–1973).[9] They had one daughter, also named Dorah, called Dody (1933–1998).[14] Dorah Sterne died in 1994, aged 98 years. The Sterne Family Papers are at the University of Alabama Birmingham Archives.[15]
References
edit- ^ a b Sandra Berman, interviewer. Lyons Joel Heyman[permanent dead link] (2001), oral history interview for the Jewish Oral History Project of Atlanta.
- ^ a b Hazel Olshan, interviewer; Dorah Sterne (January 10, 1985), Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections.
- ^ "Birmingham Little Theater's Play Contest". The Montgomery Advertiser. 1929-11-21. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-11-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Objectives for 1932 Pointed Out by Mrs. Sterne". The Birmingham News. 1932-01-03. p. 31. Retrieved 2020-11-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "University Women Slate Luncheon". The Birmingham News. 1938-09-23. p. 27. Retrieved 2020-11-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hill, Miriam Gann (1954-08-04). "AAUW to Have Busy Year; Social Work to be Stressed". The Birmingham News. p. 23. Retrieved 2020-11-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Kohn, Ernest Ferdinand Markus". Birmingham Holocaust Education Center. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
- ^ Elovitz, Mark H. (2003-03-27). A Century of Jewish Life In Dixie: The Birmingham Experience. University of Alabama Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-8173-5021-5.
- ^ a b Olive, J. Fred III. "Mervyn H. Sterne". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
- ^ Sparrow, Hugh W. (1954-01-27). "State Penal System has 'Grown Up'". The Birmingham News. p. 24. Retrieved 2020-11-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sun Shines Through These Prison Bars". The Birmingham News. 1949-11-30. p. 12. Retrieved 2020-11-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "About Smith - Smith History - Smith College Medalists". Smith College. Retrieved 2020-11-16.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Mr. Sterne Engaged to Miss Dorah Heyman". The Anniston Star. 1922-09-26. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-11-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Dorah A. Sterne is Wed in South; Married to Lawrence Rosen, Washington and Jefferson Alumnus, in Birmingham". The New York Times. 1957-09-08. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
- ^ Mervyn H. Sterne and Sterne Family Papers, UAB Archives.
External links
edit- Levy, Cynthia Betty. "You Can't Imagine This Life: Diaries and Letters of a Southern-Jewish Grande Dame, Josephine Joel Heyman, 1901-1993" (PhD. diss., Louisiana State University 1999). About Dorah Sterne's sister-in-law, Josephine Joel Heyman.
