Blistein Sisters
The Jewish Encyclopedia
of Western Pennsylvania
A project of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center
Lilian Blistein (1913-1998) was the daughter of Aaron Girshevich Blistein (1880-1943) and Alice “Elkie” Blistein (1884-1961), both of Russia. They had five children, Edward (1905-1985), Harry (d.1906), Mitchell (1907-1999), Louis (1909-1909), and Lilian. Aaron Blistein owned Blistein & Karlen, a store located in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, Pa. Branches of the Blistein family lived on Rhode Island, in Ohio, Pittsburgh and Butler.
Lilian Blistein married Alexander Hurwitz (1910-1994) on June 20, 1937. They had one child, Aaron M. Hurwitz (b.1946.) Hurwitz was the son of Joseph Hurwitz (1886-1965) and Bessie Miller (1887-1968) and had a sister named Isabel (1908-1990) and a brother named Hyman (1915-1994).
Born and raised in Butler, Pa., Alexander Hurwitz graduated from Butler High School in 1926 before graduating from the University of Pittsburgh as a Doctor of Dental Medicine in 1933. That same year, Alexander Hurwitz opened his first dental practice on Main Street in Butler, Pa. In 1943, Alexander received his commission as a captain in the U.S. Air Force and was honorably discharged three and a half years later with the rank of Major. Because he was a dentist, Hurwitz served his time on base in Herrington, Kansas. After World War II, he continued his dental practice.
