Longtime Great Neck resident, Emma B. Zahler, died March 11, 2006. She had been a math teacher in Queens for 20 years. Upon retirement, she began a new career as a Yiddish teacher in Great Neck and Lake Success. She taught Yiddish in the Great Neck Adult Education system for 20 years. In addition, she initiated a unique program for nurses at Long Island Jewish Hospital. She taught the nurses Yiddish to enable them to communicate more easily with their patients. Emma was widely known as a Yiddish translator who assisted many authors with translating their texts into English or Yiddish. Emma was very active in Great Neck SANE, REAP, Yiddishe Vinkle and Recording For The Blind. She was a gifted artist and sculptor. Above all, Emma will be remembered as a lively, brilliant woman who was a terrific friend, wife, mother and grandmother. We will miss her greatly. David H. Pasternack, 99, died on April 2, 2006. He was an attorney and former judge in Great Neck. Loved husband of Marjorie. Devoted father of Lynn and Susan. Father-in-law of Mel. Cherished grandfather of Bryon and Diana, Brandon, Milo and Faith and Derek. Great-grandfather of Amanda and Tyler. Arrangements were made by Riverside-Nassau North Chapels, Great Neck. Service officiated by Rabbi Jerome Davidson. Interment Beth Moses Cemetery.

Helga (Murekas) Karm, 83, of Vernon, CT, formerly of Great Neck, beloved wife of Heino Karm for 58 years, died peacefully at home on April 4, 2006. Born in Laimjala, Saaremaa, Estonia on Jan. 31, 1923, she was the daughter of Jaan and Sofia Murekas.

Along with her family, Helga was forced to flee her homeland because of impending Soviet communist invasion in 1944. She met and married her husband in Seedorf, Germany, and ultimately emigrated to the US in 1949, where they raised their family in Great Neck. In 1987, she visited her homeland for the first time since the war and was reunited with her brother who had been left behind.

In Great Neck, she worked for many years at Grace Plaza Nursing Home as a nurse's aide. In 2003, Helga and her husband relocated to Connecticut.

Besides her loving husband, she is also survived by her brother Rudolf Murekas of Kuressaare, Estonia; her brother Arno Murekas of Tampa, FL; two daughters, Rina Koiva of Vernon with whom she made her home, and Lya Karm and her husband Joseph Laukaitis of Bethesda, MD. She is also survived by four grandchildren, Marianne Koiva, Pau Koiva, Kristina Laukaitis and Marla Laukaitis.

A memorial service was held April 7 at the Watkins Funeral Home, Manchester, CT. Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 279 New Britain Rd., Kensington, CT 06037 or the Visiting Nurse and Health Services, Inc., North Central Hospice, 8 Keynote Dr., Vernon, CT 06066. To sign the online guest book go to www.holmes-watkinsfuneralhomes.com.

Dr. Henry J. Seligman, DDS, 86, of Great Neck, died on April 6, 2006 at St. Francis Hospital. He graduated with the Class of 1960 from Columbia University Dental and School of General Studies. He had a private practice in Manhattan. He was an active member of Temple Emanuel for many years. Son of the late Willie and Clara (nee Holteisel) Seligman. Husband of Elaine (nee Gruber). Father of Bill Seligman (Gail) and Ron Seligman (Angie). Brother of Walter Selby (Bridget). Grandfather of Hannah and Joel and Abbigail and Bebekah. Arrangements were made by Riverside-Nassau North Chapels, Great Neck. Services at Temple Emanuel. Interment New Montefiore Cemetery, Pinelawn. Donations in his memory may be made to the Holocaust Memorial Fund, Temple Emanuel of Great Neck or the LI Alzheimer's Foundation, Port Washington.