Yesterday, we were deeply saddened to share with you the news of Trude Heller’s passing. For those of you who might be new to town or may not know the great legacy of the Heller family, we wanted to take this opportunity to spotlight all Max + Trude did for the beautiful city we know and love today.
Max Heller, who is known as the “Father of Modern Greenville,” was the 29th mayor of Greenville for almost a decade from 1971-1979. When Max became mayor, our downtown looked something like the picture below.
The sidewalk and café-lined downtown we enjoy today is a result of Heller’s vision for the city and his European heritage. Under his guidance, Main Street was converted from a four-lane thoroughfare to a two-lane oasis complete with trees, streetlights, flowers, and green spaces. In addition, he also pushed for convention center space in the Hyatt hotel, hired the first Black woman to work at City Hall, and served on the Board of Trustees at Furman University.
Max emigrated to the United States in the 1938. He ended up in Greenville and would later marry Holocaust survivor Trude Heller. The couple was married at Ensor’s on Main Street. At the time, it was the only restaurant in Greenville with air conditioning, but it went out the day of their wedding — August 2.
The couple went on to have three children and were also active in the local Jewish community and at their synagogue, Congregation Beth Israel. Trude often spoke publicly about the Holocaust, including this interview with United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and received an honorary doctorate from Furman University in 1999. The Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina presented Max + Trude with the Order of the Jewish Palmetto in April 2007.
May their memory be a blessing.
