Nina Borwick is a long-time Temple Sinai member, whose dedicated and active involvement in the Temple community enriched her life, her family’s, and the lives of those with whom she interacted. In June, Nina and her husband, Tony, will be moving to the Los Angeles area to embark on a new adventure in retirement and be closer to their daughter, Abigail, who lives and works there now.

Although we’re happy for Nina and Tony, the Library Committee, especially, is sorry to be saying goodbye to Nina, one of our longstanding and most active members.   An elementary school teacher, Nina’s love of books and her background in publishing led her to volunteer in the Temple Sinai Library.  The Used Book Sale at the Temple’s Chanukkah Mart, which involved selecting and organizing the books for the sale and being in the Library during the actual sale, was one of her many signature projects.  Another of her important roles was working with the Librarian and other volunteers to identify new books to add to the collection and to keep the book collections organized and in good condition.  Most recently, she tackled, along with another volunteer, the arduous task of culling old and out-dated books. Nina brings her considerable energy, drive, and commitment to all the volunteer activities in which she has been engaged since she and Tony joined Sinai in the late 1980s.  She will be greatly missed.

Nina’s first volunteer work for Temple Sinai was as a member of the Religious School Committee during the time their daughter Abigail was attending the school.  She later chaired the Kallot Committee and served on the Sisterhood Board as Recording Secretary.   Even when serving on other committees, Nina’s love of books showed. We have Nina to thank for starting the popular Author’s Roundtable and convincing some prominent authors to participate in the early years, including Dara Horn. When Nina takes on a project, it gets done!

In addition to her volunteer work, Nina is proud that she was in the first adult Bat Mitzvah class of 11 women, leading to her Bat Mitzvah in 1993.  Nine of the women plus Rabbi Portnoy formed a book club that has continued to this day.

Those of us on the Library Committee count Nina as a loyal and loved friend, as do so many others at Temple Sinai, including her book group colleagues, her kallah, and members of Sisterhood.  We all wish Nina and Tony well as they enter their new stage of life.

Nina was interviewed by Herb Mintz for this article