Nancy Fox honors her maternal great-grandmother Laje/Leja “Lotti” Silberspitz née Zimmerspitz of Gnojnik, Poland. Lotti was born on March 2, 1874, in Ubrzeż by Łapanow, Bochnia County, Poland (then in Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire). She was the daughter of Chaim Zimmerspitz and Estera Zimmerspitz née Sellenfreund, also of Ubrzeż.
Lotti married Jakob Silberspitz (born July 10, 1868 Wyżyce) in a religious wedding, followed later by a legal wedding in Wiśnicz on March 15, 1898. Jakob predeceased Lotti on March 31, 1937, and was buried in Nowy Wiśnicz cemetery. His matzevah still remains…
Lotti, Jakob, and their six children resided in Gnojnik, Brzesko County, where Jakob was a merchant. They also lived in Wyżyce, Bochnia County, where Jakobs’ parents Hersch and Salomea Silberspitz were innkeepers.
Lotti and Jakob’s children were: Chane “Helen” (1895-1923, Nancy Fox’s grandmother), Chaim “Heinrich” “Henry” (1897-1979), Hersch “Herman” (1902-1923), Reisla (1908), Mojżesz “Moniek” (1909-1942), and Abraham “Roman” (1912-?).
During the Holocaust, Lotti perished in Żabno ghetto with her son Moniek and his wife Marjem Silberspitz née Amada. Lotti was shot by firing squad in Żabno on June 18, 1942.