Obituary of Ella Kanner

Ella Kremnitzer Kanner, of Palm Beach, Florida, the last of her family's generation of Holocaust survivors, died peacefully at home on May 9, 2026. She was 95 years old. Mrs. Kanner was born on November 7, 1930, in Zlochov, Poland, the daughter of Anshul and Anna Kremnitzer. Her father and his brothers were leaders of the local Jewish community. She was a young child when Germany invaded Poland and the Jews of her town were herded into a camp for deportation to the concentration camps. Her uncles were murdered immediately. Her father then set the camp on fire so that Ella, her mother, and her sisters, Berta and Dora, could escape. The family was hidden in the Polish countryside by the Vovkotrub family, Ukrainian neighbors later honored by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations. As the front shifted, Ella's father made the impossible decision to lead the family across Russian and German lines in hopes of being captured by the Americans. Ella spent the remainder of the war hiding in sewers, going days without food, water, or sunlight. When American soldiers finally took the family in, they feared the little girl would not survive. She did. From that moment on, she fought for life - and for joy. She was sent to Föhrenwald, a displaced persons camp in Germany, where she met a young man from the Polish forests named Mayer Kanner. Family lore holds that he taught her to ride a bicycle there. They reunited in New York after both families emigrated to America - hers arriving by boat through New Orleans, then Omaha, before her father, speaking no English, decided to bring them east. Ella and Mayer were married on December 22, 1951, in Norma, New Jersey. The young couple began their American life on a chicken farm in Dorothy, New Jersey, where Meyer also sold shoes at the local market to make ends meet. They later moved to Vineland, where Mayer and his brother Isaac founded Kanner Brothers Pillows. Ella raised their three children in Vineland, lit Shabbat candles every Friday night, hosted the family Passover seders and the Yom Kippur break-fast, and made her home the place where every cousin, aunt, and uncle was welcome. Mrs. Kanner believed that after everything she had survived, her purpose was to be happy and to raise children who felt loved. She raised each of her three children to honor their distinct gifts, telling them to use their talents "for God and humanity." In her later years she volunteered to teach students about the Holocaust, determined that what she had lived through would not be forgotten and would never be repeated. She and Mayer eventually retired to Palm Beach, Florida, where her sense of humor about the long arc of her life never failed her. Asked once how she liked her new home, she answered, "We used to be greenies - now we are emeralds." Asked during the Covid lockdown whether the isolation was difficult, she replied, "No. Compared to Hitler, Covid was a walk in the park." Ella was predeceased by her beloved husband, Mayer Kanner, in 2018; her parents, Anshul and Anna Kremnitzer; and her sisters, Berta and Dora. She is survived by her three children, Linda Kanner and her husband Richard Pine of Yardley, Pennsylvania, Steve Kanner and his wife Anne of West Palm Beach, Florida, and Allan Kanner of Telluride, Colorado; her seven grandchildren, Ally Levy Ulrich (and her husband Sam), Mia Levy Liebowitz (and her husband Gavi), Ben Levy, Ellen Kanner Loss (and her husband Dan), Andrea Kanner Ruby (and her husband Mike), Max Kanner, and Eli Kanner; her nine great-grandchildren, Ezra, Hila, and Leo Ulrich, Arianna and Joelle Liebowitz, Jacob and Aaron Loss, and Gabby and David Ruby; and many beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins. A Funeral service will be held on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Rone Funeral Service in Vineland, New Jersey, followed by burial at Alliance Cemetery. Shiva will be observed following the burial at 566 Heritage Oak Drive, Yardley, Pennsylvania. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Ella's memory may be made to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (ushmm.org). May her memory be a blessing. ARRANGEMENTS are under the supervision of Rone Funeral Service, 1110 East Chestnut Avenue, Vineland, NJ 08360 To send online condolences please visit our website at www.RONEFUNERALSERVICE.com