Tzvi Ainsworth was very devoted to his wife, Ingrid.
They are two of the 32 identified victims of the condo collapse in Surfside.
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"Like a terrible nightmare; can’t wake up," said Rabbi Aryeh Citron, who leads the Surfside Minyan Synagogue, a small congregation that sits just blocks from where the Champlain Towers used to be.
Six families in Rabbi Citron's congregation are either survivors of the collapse, still missing, or have been recovered.
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SURFSIDE CONDO COLLAPSE
"Tzvi was a very easy-going fellow, very nice to talk to. Great sense of humor, very chatty," Rabbi Citron recalled. "Just had a lot to say about his life and the places he’s been and jobs that he’s done and talking about his kids — just a great all-around guy."
Tzvi, 68, was a senior member of the congregation. He never missed services — unless it was to take care of his wife, who was also known as Itty.
"She was having treatments and often going to doctor. He was very devoted to her. Always taking care of her," Rabbi Citron said. "If he was missing, if he didn't come to the synagogue, it was because he was with her or his children."
The Ainsworths moved to Surfside within the last several years from Australia. Some of their seven children all lived in the area, and Itty’s mother lived in Miami Beach.
The couple just celebrated the birth of a new grandchild the day before the collapse.
Now Rabbi Citron — a religious leader in the community — has taken on a role as a sounding board for the six families in his congregation who have been affected.
"The family members that I’m in touch with are still praying for that miracle. They haven’t given up," he said.
Funeral plans are being made for the Ainsworths and will be done quickly, the rabbi said.
