William A. Wexler Family Papers

Dr. William A. “Bill” Wexler was a native of Toledo, Ohio, where he graduated from the University of Toledo. He later moved to Memphis, Tennessee to attend the Southern College of Optometry. He moved to Savannah, Georgia after marrying Dorothy Levy (1911-1969). Bill and Dorothy Wexler had three children; Dr. Allan Victor Wexler (1938-2006), Col. Edward Irwin Wexler (b. 1946), and Dr. Raymond H. Wexler (b. 1953). He practiced optometry for over 30 years in Savannah. During those years he was a leader of many Jewish organizations including: B’nai B’rith, United Jewish Appeal, and the Savannah Jewish Federation. Most notably, he served as international president of B’nai B’rith from 1965 to 1971. He was an alderman known for his civil rights and humanitarian acts and was an informal advisor to several presidents, prime ministers, and religious leaders around the world. Also, in 1972, he became a founding member of both the “Democrats for Nixon” and the “National Jewish Committee for Nixon,” organizing and campaigning for the re-election of President Richard M. Nixon. After his term as President ended, he retired to Israel, where he married Dr. Osnat Itelson (b. 1939), an obstetrician and officer in the Israel Defense Forces. He had two children with his second wife, twins Tamir and Keren (b. 1974). He died in Israel on November 30, 2000.

Dorothy Levy Wexler was a native of Savannah, Georgia and was the first wife of Dr. William A. Wexler. She was very active with B’nai B’rith as well as other Jewish organizations, especially in the women’s clubs, divisions, and charters. Upon her death at age 58 in 1969, there were over 2,000 letters and telegrams of condolence received and B’nai B’rith created the Dorothy Levy Wexler Memorial Fund in her memory. Also in 1969, a new chapter of B’nai B’rith Girls (or BBG, a high school sorority for Jewish girls) was founded and named in her memory. The Dorothy L. Wexler Chapter merged with the Janet M. Clark Chapter of BBG sometime prior to 1993 becoming Wexler/Clark BBG #39.

Colonel Edward I. Wexler is a native of Savannah, Georgia. He is the son of William A. Wexler and Dorothy Wexler. He served in the Air Force for most of his life and in 1974 joined the 165th Airlift Wing as its first full-time Air Intelligence Officer. In 2000, he became the Human Resources Officer for Georgia. He married the former Mary Witt, an Air Force nurse, in 1967. Mary W. Wexler was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force and later served as one of the first nurse practitioners in Savannah, as well as the deputy coroner for Chatham County. Together, Edward and Mary Wexler had three daughters. Mary Wexler died in Savannah on November 28, 2009, at the age of 61.