Meet Gail and John Baron Book of Life Society Members and Their Jewish Legacy

John and I both enjoyed a strong connection to the Jewish community, even though our childhoods were quite different. I grew up in Flint, Michigan which was a small town with a very small Jewish community. My family belonged to a Conservative synagogue where I attended close to eight hours of religious school each week until I was a Bat Mitzvah. There were just a few Jewish kids my age, but we had lots of Jewish education. John was born and raised in northern New Jersey. His family was less observant than mine, but he says being Jewish in his hometown was “in the air,” it was so common.

John and I met through mutual friends in New York City and lived in the area for eight years after we were married. Our journey to Charlotte was quite random. Soon after we decided that we wanted a better work/life balance, John found an opportunity with a Charlotte-based law firm. Two months later, we were looking for a home and have never looked back.

In 1996, the Charlotte Jewish community embraced us completely and was an immediate source of comfort for our family. For me, it felt like a bigger, better version of what I had known in Michigan. On day one, we met friends by the JCC pool and at a barbecue. To this day, those people are still some of our closest friends. We enrolled our children in the Jewish Preschool on Sardis and joined the first class of the Bernstein Leadership Group. Oddly enough, we have felt more Jewish in Charlotte than we

ever had living in the New York area, and the Jewish community continues to be a focal point of our volunteer efforts. John and I both served on the boards of the Levine Jewish Community Center and the Federation. I chaired the Federation’s women’s campaign and the Lion of Judah division.

John and I both feel eternally grateful to Jewish Charlotte for paving the way for us to enjoy rich and fulfilling lives. We moved here without friends and family, and this community has given us lifelong friendships and our forever home. We created our Jewish legacy because we wanted to help to sustain the organizations which are so important to us and our children. We hope our gift will allow future generations to experience the many benefits we have enjoyed since we arrived.