Bat Yam founder remembered for love for family, learning
Melvin “Mel” Leon Bleiberg, 97, of Fort Myers, passed away in his sleep on July 18, 2024.
He was founder, president and a longtime trustee of the Bat Yam Temple of the Islands on Sanibel.
Bleiberg was born on March 21, 1927, the first child of four to Max and Betty Bleiberg. They lived in Jeanette, Pennsylvania, according to his obituary. With a bunch of children underfoot, his mother decided that he was ready for kindergarten, even though he was only age 4. Bleiberg was a responsible oldest child, helping out in his father’s store and rising before dawn to help with milk deliveries.
“Mel loved to read,” the family shared. “He and a friend decided that they would read every book in the Jeanette library, with one of them starting with the A’s and the other one starting with the Z’s, and they would meet in the middle.”
After high school graduation, Bleiberg enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served two years. He then attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he met his soulmate, Shirley Ringelheim. The couple were married in January of 1949, and they raised their three children, Ed, Jim and Judy, in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania. The household included Shirley’s mother, Pauline, who loved Bleiberg like a son.
He studied metallurgy, earning a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and he spent his career as a specialist in fuel rods for nuclear power plants. Bleiberg’s friends affectionately referred to him as “a rocket scientist.” He represented the United States at international conferences in Europe and Asia, and chaired an international meeting in Tucson, Arizona, with experts from all over the world.
“He loved the creativity of scientific discovery and the collaboration with other scientists,” his family shared. “He loved to tell a funny story — he was a great storyteller, in general — about the visit to his plant of Adm. Hyman Rickover, who was a force to be reckoned with.”
He retired at age 58 and began a next phase of life. The couple spent most of the year on Sanibel.
Not knowing how many Jews lived on the island, they placed an ad in the newspapers in 1991, inviting guests to meet. The room was set up with 12 chairs and 12 prayer books and over 100 people showed.
“That night Bat Yam Temple of the Islands was founded,” the temple shared.
In 1951, the couple had helped found the Temple Emanuel of South Hills in Pittsburgh.
Bleiberg served as Bat Yam’s first president from 1991-93.
He initiated six telephone calls to the Westminster Holocaust Museum, to the offices of the memorial Scrolls Trust, expressing interest in acquiring a Holocaust Torah, all to no avail. Bleiberg was told that the congregation was too small. But when a Bat Yam member and Holocaust survivor visited London and told her story, the temple was allocated a Czech Torah.
“A solid foundation was built in a very short time,” Bat Yam shared. “In every aspect of Mel’s life, he built solid foundations.”
For many summers, the couple lived in Chautauqua, New York, where they enjoyed an annual nine-week season of lectures, music and dance. According to his obituary, while they did not live in the same cities as their children and five grandchildren, they created deep relationships with each of them. Annual visits to Chautauqua and Sanibel punctuated the year and built memories and closeness.
“Mel was devastated when Shirley died in 2016,” the family shared “After spending several years as her caretaker, he had time for himself.”
Bleiberg took up watercolor painting and derived great joy and stimulation from a new activity. He continued to be a lifelong learner and he was always reading a book, until the day that he died.
“Mel was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend, who was engaged, engaging, loved to tell a good story and laughed easily,” the family shared. “He remained a devoted Pitt football fan — through good and bad seasons.”
“Mel will be sorely missed by his friends, his family and the Bat Yam congregation,” the temple shared. “May Mel’s memory always be a blessing for all who loved and knew him.”
Bleiberg is survived by: his sons, Edward (Betty Leigh) and James (Susan); daughter, Judy (Jeff); five grandchildren; four grandchildren-in-law; and six great-grandchildren.