Gertrude (Gert) Thaler (1920-2012) was born in San Diego. She began writing her “Heart to Heart” column in the “Southwest Jewish Press Heritage” in 1934 when she was thirteen years old, which continued in that newspaper and in various other local Jewish newspapers until 2007. The daughter of George and Anna Shelley, she followed in her mother’s footsteps, supporting all things Jewish in San Diego, in Israel and beyond. She was a local and regional leader of Hadassah; a founder and president of Adat Ami Synagogue (now Ohr Shalom Synagogue) and she was active in other congregations as well. Thaler worked on various committees at the Jewish Community Center, was the founder and first president of the Jewish National Fund in San Diego and was active in the United Jewish Federation and the Anti-Defamation League. She knew about everyone and everything Jewish in San Diego, but her efforts and philanthropy did not stop there. She gave of herself to the city of San Diego, to secular organizations on the national level and to the city of Tel Aviv, Israel. She was also a Jewish Historical Society of San Diego member.

Anna Shelley, Gert Thaler’s mother, came to San Diego before 1916. She was married to Mr. I. Klaskin (or Klazkin) with whom she had four children. He died in 1916 and in 1919 she married George Shelley, a widower with nine children. Gert Thaler is the only child of George and Anna Shelley. Anna Shelley was a leader in the Jewish community and was active in Jewish organizations and congregations. See the Michael Naiman Collection, photos and Edith Naiman Diary, in 4/2022 still possession of JHSSD.

The Jolly Sixteen was a women’s organization which was started before World War I. It was originally a benevolent organization called the Jolly Sewing Circle. It always had sixteen members, so membership was only available if someone left. The group started the Hebrew Home for the Aged and joined with several other women’s groups to found Federated Jewish Charities, which eventually became Jewish Family Service of San Diego.

Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America was founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold to aid the Jews of Europe and Palestine. Hadassah established and continues to support youth villages and hospitals in Palestine which serve all people in what is now Israel. The San Diego Chapter dates to the 1930s.