Jack Steckoll (1898 - 1989)

Jack Steckoll is the son of Nochum Aaron Steckoll, known as Aaron, the brother-in-law of Rachel Levin, my 2x great aunt. Levin family HERE. Steckoll family HERE.

Parents: Nochum Aaron Steckoll (1867 - 1933) and Gittel Bucher (1870 - 1926)

Born: 25 February 1898 in Varaklani, Latvia

Hebrew name: Yitzhak son of Nachum Aharon

Siblings

• Simon Steckoll (1893 - 1935) married Fanny Esther Gould (1904 - 1987) in Senekal, Orange Free State, South Africa in 1923
• Maurice Steckoll (1895 - 1948) married Golda Casper (1899 - 1939)
• Eva Steckoll (1903 - 1983) married Woolf Stein (1898 - 1947) in Ladybrand, Orange Free State, South Africa on 7 February 1929

Occupation: Chemist and owner of a general dealer business in Pilgrim's Rest and Johannesburg, South Africa

Jack's chemist in Pilgrim's Rest. In 1913 Jack Steckoll rented the chemist part of the building from a Mr McIntyre. In 1929 McIntyre died and Jack bought the building from McIntyre's Estate and the stand lease was transferred into his name. He leased this stand until 1946 when he sold the building to Mrs Sheila MacFarlane. It is possible that at some stage he changed the store to a general dealer business

After 1946 Jack ran a general dealer business on Louis Botha Avenue in Johannesburg which he sold in late 1949

TRANSFER OF BUSINESS
Notice is hereby given that the general dealer's business carried on by JACK STECKOLL as MERRICKS OUTFITTERS at Vreda Court, 272b Louis Botha Avenue, Johannesburg, is being sold to LOUIS KARLIN, who will carry on business under the same style and at the same address with effect from the 16th day of January, 1950. Sloot, Broido & Hoffman, Attorneys for the Parties, 1-8 Sacke's Buildings, Joubert Street, Johannesburg. (Government Gazette 30 December 1949)

Married:

Lily Chaitow in Johannesburg, South Africa on 7 July 1925. They were divorced in Durban, South Africa on 26 August 1952

Jack and Lily's marriage certificate. They were married on 7 July 1925 in Johannesburg, but both of them lived in Pilgrim's Rest

Children

• Genesta Steckoll (1926 - 1998)
• Gerald Mervyn Steckoll (1930 - 2011)
• Myra Steckoll (1931 - 1993)

Death

8 May 1989 in Durban, South Africa age 91. He is buried in the reform section of the Temple David Jewish cemetery in Durban, South Africa, plot A92

Burial

Jewishgen Cemetery record for Jack

Place of Birth

Simon was born in Varaklani, Latvia

The Jewish community in 

Varaklani

 officially began to form in the late 18th century, shortly after the region was annexed by the Russian Empire. While a few Jewish families may have lived in the area earlier, the community truly took root around 1780. By 1797, there were 413 Jewish residents recorded in the town, a number that grew steadily as Varaklani became an important trading post. Throughout the 19th century, the population expanded rapidly due to migration from nearby Lithuania and Belarus. By 1847, the number of Jewish residents had increased to 584 people, and religious life began to flourish under leaders like Rabbi Aharon Zelig Zioni, who headed the community during this mid-century growth.

The community reached its numerical peak in 1897, when a census recorded 1,357 Jews, which accounted for approximately 75% of the town's total population. During this era, the town was led by Rabbi Abraham bar Gabai, who served as the chief rabbi for five decades starting in 1873, and Rabbi Jacob Pollak, who served as the crown rabbi. This overwhelming majority meant that for several decades, Varaklani functioned almost entirely as a Jewish town where the rhythms of life were dictated by religious law and the Hebrew calendar.

The population began to fluctuate during the early 20th century due to the turmoil of World War I and the Russian Revolution. In 1920, the first census of the newly independent Republic of Latvia recorded 868 Jewish residents, a significant decline from the pre-war peak. However, the community remained the dominant group in the town, and by 1925, the number had climbed back up to 991 people. During this period of Latvian independence, Jewish citizens became deeply integrated into the town’s governance. Reuven Arsh achieved significant prominence as the town’s mayor, while Michael Kagan served as the deputy mayor.

By the eve of the Holocaust in 1935, the Jewish population stood at 952 people, making up roughly 57% of the town’s residents. This community was supported by a network of merchant families with surnames such as Zogut, Schneir, Chait, Kaplan, Morain, Matchevsky, Steiner, Boorenstein, Berzon, Kopolovitch, Kodish, Solevy, Shvalb, and Fingerhuts. These families maintained the town's shops, schools, and cultural institutions until the Nazi invasion in 1941.

The destruction of this community began shortly after German forces entered Varaklani in early July 1941. Immediate restrictions were placed on Jewish residents, and they were forced into a provisional ghetto established next to the Jewish cemetery. On August 4, 1941, a German SD unit known as the Arājs Commando, assisted by local Latvian self-defenders and police, carried out a mass execution. Approximately 540 Jews were taken to the cemetery and shot to death in pits they had been forced to dig themselves. Rabbi Eliezer-Yaakov Hacohen Grodsky, the final spiritual leader, was particularly mistreated during this event; he was dragged to the execution site with his beard tied to a horse’s tail. After the massacre, local peasants were forced to fill in the mass graves. Before their retreat in 1944, German authorities ordered the bodies to be burned to destroy evidence of the crime