Weinstein Family Papers and Material Culture

Sam Weinstein was born on the west side of Denver, Colorado in 1912. He attended the University Of Denver (DU) as an undergraduate and graduated from the law school in 1932. He was an attorney in Denver for many years. His future wife Rowena Mae Akers also attended the law school. Rowena Mae Akers was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1911. Her father Abraham Akers was a chemical engineer and the family lived in Oklahoma and Texas before moving to Denver in the 1920s. Her mother Edithe Akers was a writer, a lecturer and an advocate for women's rights. Rowena Mae Weinstein earned a degree in social work from DU in 1933 and worked for the City and County of Denver. Sam Weinstein and Rowena Mae Akers were married in 1935 and became the parents of five children: Loren, David, Robert, Joy, and Steven. Sam Weinstein served in the army infantry in the European theater from 1943 to 1945. In 1945, Sam Weinstein was a charter member and a commander of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States, Post 344 (Denver, Colorado). In 1947, Sam became a member of the “Lavender Hill Mob,” which illegally sent ammunition and guns to Palestine before Israel was recognized. Sam served on the Beth Joseph Synagogue Board and Rowena was a member of the Sisterhood. Rowena was also a member of the National Council of Jewish Women and was the youngest matron inducted into the Eastern Star (a Masonic appendant body which is open to men and women). Samuel Weinstein died in Denver in 1998 and Rowena Mae Weinstein died in 2001.