People stand in front of a memorial bearing the names of the victims of a deadly shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue (Brendan Smialowski)

Pittsburgh (AFP) – Among the 11 people slain at a synagogue in Pittsburgh were beloved pillars of their community whose loss is being mourned by many.

Authorities have now released the identities of the victims of the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue, the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in recent US history.

Here are names and details about the victims, and how they have been remembered:

– Rose Mallinger –

The oldest victim of the shooting was Rose Mallinger, 97, a former secretary who was a “lovely lady,” Robin Friedman told CNN.

She was “full of life” and had “so much energy,” Brian Schreiber, a member of the Tree of Life synagogue, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Her daughter Andrea Wedner was also at the synagogue during the attack and was wounded, Schreiber said.

– Bernice and Sylvan Simon –

Bernice Simon, 84, and Sylvan Simon, 86, were a married couple killed in the shooting. 

Their neighbor Jo Stepaniak told CNN they were “the sweetest people you could imagine” and “were loving and giving and kind.”

“They wanted to give back to people and be kind,” said Stepaniak.

– Melvin Wax –

Melvin Wax was a retired accountant who was reported to have been either 87 or 88 years old. 

“Mel was a quiet, simple, honest, religious, kind, generous man,” Bill Cartiff told People. 

“He was just a quiet man, and he was hard of hearing and soft-spoken, so he couldn’t hear you well and it was hard to hear him. He was sweet and you maybe had to have a little bit of tolerance for his awful jokes, which he incessantly told.”

-Irving Younger –

Irving Younger, 69, was remembered as a regular at Tree of Life services and a “consistent volunteer,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he saw this gunman walk into the room where the services were and his first thought was ‘Can I help this stranger get settled?’ — until he saw what the stranger was doing — because that’s the kind of thought that he would have,” former Tree of Life president Barton Schacter told the Post-Gazette.

– Jerry Rabinowitz – 

Jerry Rabinowitz, 66, was a doctor who “was more than just a physician for me and my family; for over three decades he was truly a trusted confidant and healer,” Lawrence Claus told People.

“He had a truly uplifting demeanor, and as a practicing physician he was among the very best,” Claus said.

Rabinowitz was Susan Blackman’s family doctor, and “he was like a member of the family, and a member of the extended family,” she told CNN.

– Joyce Fienberg –

Joyce Fienberg, 75, was a native of Toronto, Canada and a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh.

“She was a very petite woman but lit up a room with her huge personality. We weren’t just welcome in the classroom, but into their home,” Jason Connor, one of her former students, told CNN.

“Everyone says this, but she really was an enormously caring person.”

– Daniel Stein –

Daniel Stein, 71, was retired and was a frequent attendee at the Tree of Life synagogue, CNN reported.

“My dad was a simple man and did not require much,” his son Joe wrote on his Facebook page.

“My mom, sister and I are absolutely devastated and crushed! Our lives now are going to have to take a different path, one that we thought would not happen for a long time,” he wrote.

“We love you dad more than you’ll ever know!”

– Richard Gottfried –

Richard Gottfried, 65 was a dentist and part of an interfaith couple.

He and his wife Margaret Durachko “embraced one another and our families in faith,” an employee at the Catholic church she attended told People.

“It was impressive how supportive they were of one another in practicing their faiths,” his cousin Judy Weitzman told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

– David and Cecil Rosenthal –

Brothers David Rosenthal, 54, and Cecil Rosenthal, 59, were the youngest people killed in the Tree of Life attack.

“Cecil and David had a love for life and for those around them. They loved their community. They spent a lot of time at the Tree of Life, never missing a Saturday,” Chris Schopf, who managed the home where they lived, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

They would sit in the back of the Tree of Life and greet people as they came in, Suzan Hauptman told CNN. 

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