Eli Sanders: What Happened To Bernie Sanders’ Father?

Eli Sanders is the father of American politician and activist Bernie Sanders. Eli’s son Bernie Sanders serves as the senior United States senator from Vermont. He is often seen as a leader of the U.S. progressive movement. He is an advocate of progressive policies, known for his opposition to economic inequality and neoliberalism, and his support for workers’ self-management.

Eli Sanders: Bio Summary

Who Was Bernie Sanders’ Father, Eli Sanders?

Eli Sanders also known as Elias Ben Yehuda Sanders was born in September 1904, in Slopnica, Galicia, Austria. His parents were Lieb Sanders and Jetti Ettel Horn. He was the brother of Henry Sanders, Chana Reibscheid, and Jakob Gutman and the half-brother of Abraham Schnützer. He was a Polish-Jewish immigrant. He immigrated to the United States in the early 1920s without knowing how to speak English.

Eli Sanders traveled to the United States with little money. He is said to have dropped out of high school and most of his family members in Poland were later killed during the Holocaust. He worked as a paint salesman in the United States. He married Dorothy Sanders (née Glassberg) (1912–1960) on 28 July 1934, in Bronx, New York. They had two children, all sons.

On April 29, 1935, in New York City, U.S., Eli and Dorothy welcomed Lawrence ‘Larry’ Sanders. Their son Bernard ‘Bernie’ Sanders was born on September 8, 1941, in New York City, U.S. The family struggled financially. Eli and his family lived in Brooklyn in a small, rent-controlled apartment where his beloved wife Dorothy hoped that one day the family would move out of that apartment but she died while they still lived there.

I grew up in Brooklyn, in a three-and-a-half room, rent-controlled apartment on E. 26th St. in Midwood. Tomorrow, we kick off our presidential campaign not far from there, at Brooklyn College, where I studied for a year. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/ju7dm33KLB

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 2, 2019

Eli became a widower when his wife Dorothy died. He was heartbroken and “desperately depressed” after his wife passed away. He was a supporter of New Deal programs and although he did not benefit personally, his son Larry said his father “always believed it was the right thing to do. We lived in an environment where New Deal politics were quite normal. It was widely understood that the government could do good things.”

Eli Sanders did his best to provide for his family. Although Eli had a tough life, he inspired his sons Larry Sanders and Bernie Sanders. Larry became an academic, social worker, and politician who is the former Health and Social Care Spokesperson of the Green Party of England and Wales. Bernie also became a politician and activist who is the senior United States senator from Vermont. Both Larry and Bernie have acknowledged their parents for their contributions to who they are today.

ALSO, READ: Dorothy Sanders: How Did Bernie Sanders’ Mother Die?

According to Bernie Sanders: “I did not have a mom and dad who gave me millions of dollars to build luxury skyscrapers and casinos and country clubs. But I had something more valuable: I had the role model of a father who had unbelievable courage in journeying across an ocean, with no money in his pocket and not knowing a word of English.”

Bernie said his father Eli Sanders “came to escape the crushing poverty that existed in his community and to escape widespread anti-Semitism. Needless to say I would not be with you today if he had not made that trip from Poland because virtually his entire family there was wiped out by the Nazis.” Bernie has shared that he learned “a great deal” about immigration as a child because of Eli.

Larry Sanders also revealed: “I want to bring before this convention the names of our parents, Eli Sanders and Dorothy Glassberg Sanders. They did not have easy lives, and they died young. They would be immensely proud of their son and his accomplishments. They loved him. They loved the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt and would be especially proud that Bernard is renewing that mission.”

“It is with enormous pride that I cast my vote for Bernie Sanders.” Unfortunately, Eli Sanders was not alive to witness how great his sons have become.

My father traveled across an ocean to come to this country from Poland at the age of 17, without a nickel in his pocket, to escape poverty and persecution. That took unbelievable courage, and he became the proudest American you ever saw. #FathersDay pic.twitter.com/Tbo0TuXAzv

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 16, 2019

ALSO, READ: Deborah Shiling, Bernie Sanders’ ex-wife

What Happened To Bernie Sanders’ Father?

Eli Sanders died on 4 August 1962 at age 57 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. The cause of his death is unknown. He is buried at Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Queens, New York. His wife Dorothy Sanders died on March 25, 1960, at age 47. She is said to have had rheumatic fever as a child and became ill from the long-term effects and eventually passed away after a second failed heart surgery.