Pikesville resident Hannah L. Storch, a prominent real estate developer, philanthropist and matriarch of the local Orthodox community, passed away on Sunday, Oct. 25. She was 98.
A native of Atlanta, Mrs. Storch was born Hannah Hirmes and was married for 18 years to M. Leo Storch, an attorney, businessman and real estate developer who died in 1972.
The Storches were strong supporters of the Bais Yaakov School for Girls, the Baltimore Orthodox Council, Jews for Judaism, Project Ezra, Camp Shoresh, the Chesed Fund, the Star-K kosher supervisory organization, Northwest Citizens Patrol, Etz Chaim: The Center for Jewish Learning, Beth Tfiloh Synagogue, the Women’s Institute of Torah and other institutions in the Orthodox community.
“Mrs. Storch was a unique type of person which we don’t see very often anymore,” said Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, spiritual leader of the Agudath Israel of Baltimore Synagogue and rabbinic administrator for Star-K, at her Oct. 25 funeral at Bais Yaakov’s Smith Avenue campus. “She carried herself with a dignity, almost a royalty, and she treated everyone with respect and graciousness. She was wise in the world of business and ably ran the family business for many years. …
“She was totally devoted to her family and to whatever she could do for klal yisrael [the Jewish people]. The dedication of the Storch family to Bais Yaakov is legendary. The school would never have gotten off the ground without the mesiras nefesh [soul sacrifice] of the Storch family.”
In his eulogy, Rabbi Aharon Feldman, rosh yeshiva or head of Pikesville’s Ner Israel Rabbinical College, called Mrs. Storch an eishet chayil, a woman of valor.
“She was the pride of Baltimore,” he said. “The pride of Baltimore has left us.”
Mrs. Storch’s son, Frank Storch, vice president of the M. Leo Storch Management Corp., spoke of his parents’ happy marriage and their unique bond.
“Mom’s total devotion was to Dad,” he said. “She was there for him with anything he needed. She shouldered many tasks so that he would be available to the Baltimore Jewish community that relied on him so much. … She realized the strengths of each of her children and … my sisters are imbued with many of the wonderful midos [character traits] and sensitivities that my mother was known for.
“Yes, we were incredibly blessed to have had years living with Mom, but we know that we are now responsible to continue to live by her standards and continue her legacy,” Storch said. “She taught us by lesson and by example how to be a devoted spouse, parent and community leader. We have a powerful role model to follow, an incredible example to live up to.”
When first meeting Mrs. Storch, Yaakov Hillel Gross, her future son-in-law, said he was “immediately struck by her regal appearance. You knew you were in the presence of somebody special. It was as if you were with the queen. She just gave off that aura. Her dress, her demeanor was from a long-ago era, a different time.
“She was an icon that we were blessed to see in our age,” he said. “There is no other duplicate of her today. She was the last of a very special breed. She was a very special lady.”
Hannah L. Storch is survived by her children, Mindy (Shlomo) Spetner, Judy Bregin (Yaakov Hillel) Gross, and Frank Allen (Danielle Sarah) Storch, and her brother, Eleazar Hirmes.
This article was provided with the permission of Baltimore Jewish Life.
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