Aunt Leah (My father's Sister) is a retired school teacher. She was born in Atarot and after several years moved with her parents to Jerusalem and  studied at Lemel School.  Her house in Pardes Hannah has been always open to me. As a child I used to stay with her family every year for more than a week, enjoying the space.

Uncle Yitzchak always had a lot of stories, full of cynical humor and sarcasm. Everyone have always enjoyed hearing him tell them.
His stories were of his childhood in Berlin and later in Israel. He left Germany as a child (age 11)  with his parents and his sister, escaping from the rise of Nazi Germany.
He would tell stories about his studies at Mikve Israel Agricultural School
He would tell  stories about his orchard about trees planted by his father, Pinchas Titelman who died before having the chance to enjoy their fruit and who was more a cello player than a farmer.
He also told of his mother Tzili bringing the first piano to Pardes-Hannah,
about fighting as a soldier in the British Army against the Third Reich,
about the construction of their little pastoral paradise.
One of Uncle Yitzchak's hobbies is making short films about his farm, his family (including me), and his  yearly travels abroad,  each time to a different location. includes his impressions of his visit with his wife, Aunt  Leah in Russia in 1965. In those days we didn't have television in Israel.
Uncle Yitzchak published some of his stories in a book for his grandchildren.
Aunt Leah and Uncle Yitzchak have four daughters.
Their grandson Yuval Cohen choose a life of a musician and a Pianist,
encouraged by his father Miko,
His younger brother Gilad follows his steps as a musician  in the Performing Arts

Martin Strauss used to scuba dive  for a hobby.
Michal the daughter of Batia and Martin was chosen as a former "Miss Israel" .

My uncle's sister Batia Strauss, like her brother, grew up in Pardes-Hannah. While uncle Yitzchak quit playing the violin (because he felt that it was too Sissy), she continued with the piano and became a musician.
She lived in Tel Aviv and used the original house of the family on weekends, while her brother Yitzchak built his own house on the other side of the land, adding room after room during the years and doing some of the work with his own hands.
Batia was involved in Music Education for young people and used to conduct choirs.
She was also involved in music matters with Israeli Radio.
Her life was cut short by a terrible car accident; the person responsible for the accident plead temporary insanity.
Her close friend, Naomi Shemer, one of Israeli most famous song writers, wrote  a song about a Saturday spent in Pardes-Hannah with Batia  & Martin & Uncle Yitzchak.
 

בתיה שטראוס