14 minute read
Obituaries
THEODORE “TED” KRUGER
NEW ORLEANS, LA.—Theodore Kruger, 94, resident of New Orleans, La. and Norfolk, Va. died peacefully in his sleep in New Orleans on November 28, 2022.
He was born in Berkeley on August 20, 1928 to Eleanor and Abe Kruger, stalwarts of the Berkeley community.
Growing up in Berkeley, Teddy worked in his parents’ grocery store. He shared many stories of how Pop and Bubbi Kruger worked hard to serve the needs of the Berkeley community. This experience influenced his career path in food service.
A graduate of University of Virginia, Ted proudly managed the UVA Baseball team. Teddy, or “Feets” (size 13) as his fraternity brothers called him, maintained his UVA friendships for his lifetime.
Ted’s career in food service established him as a visionary. As owner of Hampton Roads Burger Chef franchise, he developed the first downtown fast food restaurant concept in our area. His Wards Corner location was a community staple. He went on to develop unique restaurant venues and later used his skills to identify tower sites with Verizon, ushering the local community into the digital age.
Teddy was selfless and totally devoted to his family, friends, and his Temple Israel community.
He greatly valued his friendships through Temple Israel and his beloved minyan, which he attended daily and often led.
He is survived by his daughter Dr. Ellen and her husband David of NOLA, who lovingly welcomed him into their home to live his final chapter. He is also survived by his daughter Shelley and her husband Dr. Jeffrey of Williamsburg. He was most proud of his grandchildren, Kelsey and Dr. Jonathan of NOLA and Dr. Clay of Suffolk and Zach and his wife, Amy, of Calif. He especially adored his great grandchildren: Joelle, Genesee, John, and Winnie. Niece Sara and her family were like his own children. Ted was predeceased by his loving wife of 50 years, Ina, his dear daughter Terri, and brothers Dr. Howard and Dr. David.
The funeral was held at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Norfolk with Rabbi Michael Panitz of Temple Israel officiating.
Contributions may be made in Ted’s honor to Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund Temple Israel or a charity of the donor’s choice. Condolences may be left online at HDOliver.com.
ARNOLD HARRISON LEON
NORFOLK—After a courageous battle with cancer, Arnold Leon passed away on December 2, 2002, surrounded by his family.
He was born on May 28, 1933 in Norfolk to the late Max Leon and Ida Sinberg Leon and was preceded in death by his loving wife of 56 years, Telsa Learman Leon, and his sister, Charlotte.
An accomplished trial attorney, Arnold was a 1955 graduate of the University of Virginia where he earned his law degree in 1957. He served as president of the Portsmouth Bar Association and was a founding member of Cooper, Spong, Davis, Kilgore, Parker, Leon & Fennell, Ltd. which later changed its name to Cooper, Spong & Davis. He kept an office there until his recent passing. He co-founded American Medical Centers with his good friend, Ronald Dozoretz, and served as president of the company, which was headquartered in Nashville.
Arnold was passionate about service to his community and cherished leadership positions with the United Way, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, as well as a founder and Life-Trustee of Tidewater Jewish Foundation. He was committed to the strength and integrity of the State of Israel and made dozens of trips there. Arnold served on the Board of Visitors of Old Dominion University as well as the University of Virginia Board of Visitors for seven years. He was proud to have endowed the chair of the Dean of the UVA Law School.
Arnold also served in the Army ROTC and in the Army Reserves as a Lieutenant until he was honorably discharged. He attended Taylor Elementary, Blair Middle School, and graduated from Maury High School. At 12, he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.
Survivors include his sons Miles, Stephen, and David; daughters-in-law Sandra and Caren; grandchildren Erin Leon Olson and her husband Charlie, Ben, Mason, Matthew, Isabella, and Emily; as well as a great granddaughter, Telsa. Arnold leaves behind many close friends and relatives including Ella Roth from Tel Aviv, Israel and a favorite nephew, Marc Davidoff.
Funeral services were held at Congregation Beth El in Norfolk followed by burial at Forest Lawn Cemetery. Please do something nice for a friend or stranger. Online condolences may be shared with the family at www.hdoliver.com.
FRANKLIN SWARTZ
VIRGINIA BEACH—Franklin Alex Swartz of Virginia Beach, and Boca Raton, Fla., died on his birthday, December 11, 2022, after a long battle with cancer.
Born on December 11, 1938 in Norfolk, to Hyman and Beulah Tonelson Swartz, “Lyn,” as he was known, was a 1957 graduate of Granby High School, where he excelled both in his classes and in athletics. He made the football team as a freshman, and played on the basketball team coached by the legendary Lefty Driesell. While a 17-year-old student at Granby, he met Ilene Shapiro, with whom he shared 61 years of marriage. Together they have three children: Jeffrey Adam Swartz (Jean), his law partner; Dr. Pamela Swartz (Billy Warwick), an audiologist; and Howard Swartz (Brooke), an Emmy award winning documentarian.
Following high school, Lyn went to the University of Virginia, earning a BA in 1961. During college, he was a handball champion and played in the Mad Bowl for three years. At UVA, Lyn was the president of his fraternity, AEPi, and served as an advocate for students in the Honor System. He earned his law degree at UVA in 1964.
Lyn entered the US Army in 1964 as a lieutenant 1st class, and was deployed to the Dominican Republic during that country’s revolution. He left the Army as a Captain in 1966, turning down an offer
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OBITUARIES
to go to JAG school, opting instead for the private practice of law before joining the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, where he honed his remarkable skills in front of a jury. He left the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office in 1970 for private practice, and earned a reputation as one of the preeminent criminal defense attorneys in Hampton Roads. The list of his accreditations and professional honors is long and storied, and includes serving as chair of the Criminal Law Section of the Virginia State Bar and induction into the elite American College of Trial Attorneys. The May 20, 1991 VirginianPilot and Ledger Star article, Out of the Flock, a Few Legal Eagles, listed him as one of the Best Lawyers in Hampton Roads. He was included in the “Best Lawyers in America” since 1996, and was recognized by Virginia Business Magazine as one of the “Legal Elite” in Virginia, and as a “Super Lawyer” by the Law and Politics section of Richmond Magazine. There is no higher compliment for any lawyer than to be singled out as the one to call when other lawyers need a hand. Attorneys with such exalted reputations among colleagues are called the “lawyers’ lawyer.” Lyn Swartz was that lawyer.
He was a lifelong member of Temple Israel, the synagogue founded in 1952 by his father and other members of the Jewish community. He served as the first cantor of the fledgling congregation, and it was there that he became a bar mitzvah and later a husband. Lyn’s Jewish faith instilled in him a sense of fair play and integrity that informed every decision he ever made and every action he ever undertook.
He had a whip-smart sense of humor and a finely tuned wit, which he used to great effect on friends, family, judges, and juries alike. Sharply intelligent, with an innate sense of timing, he was a case study in effective communication, whether he was cracking a joke or explaining intricate matters of fact and law.
In addition to his wife Ilene, he leaves his three children and their spouses, and the grandchildren he loved, mentored and cherished: Michael Henry Swartz (Forest), Rachel Swartz Pulsifer (Parker), Joseph Scott Swartz, Joshua Brent Swartz and Benjamin Max Swartz. He is also survived by his sister Betty Lou Swartz Siegel (Barney) and sister-in-law, Elaine Shapiro. He will be mourned by the incalculable host of family, colleagues and friends whose lives he touched, and who universally thought of him as one of their favorite human beings. Everyone could— and did—count on Lyn.
One of the last and greatest joys of his life was officiating at the September 10, 2022 marriage of his only granddaughter Rachel to Parker Pulsifer. It was always his family who were his reason for living. They were the light in his eyes and the joys of his heart. Lyn Swartz was truly the best of men.
A funeral service was held at Temple Israel. Donations may be made to Temple Israel or a charity of your choice. Condolences may be left for the family at www.altmeyerfh.com.
FRANCIS “FRANK” ZIELINSKI
VIRGINIA BEACH—Francis William Zielinski, 73, passed away August 16, 2022.
A native of Lowell, Mass., he was a retired from the U.S. Navy and veteran of the Vietnam War, during which time he was awarded the following commendations: National Defense Service Medal (2), Sea Service Deployment Medal (5), Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon, Navy and Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Commendation, Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Commendation with Gallantry Cross, Republic of Vietnam Civil Actional Medal with Palm, Vietnam Campaign Medal with Five (5) Stars, Vietnam Services Medal and Combat Action Ribbon.
Survivors include one brother, Peter Zielinski; his wife, Sherry Zielinski; his son and daughter-in-law, Aaron and Lisa W. Zielinski; and a grandson and best buddy, Benjamin Zielinski.
Services were private. Hollomon Brown Funeral Homes.
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OBITUARIES
HENRY ROSOVSKY, REFUGEE FROM THE NAZIS WHO SHAPED HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Penny Schwartz BOSTON (JTA)—When Harvard University’s rabbi first pushed to relocate the Hillel from the outskirts of campus to its center, Henry Rosovsky was initially skeptical.
“He was absolutely right. I was wrong,” Rosovsky told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in 2017, at a 25th anniversary party for the Hillel building that bears his name: Rosovsky Hall.
The event was also a 90th birthday party for Rosovsky, an economist who spent almost all of his career at Harvard, spanning decades in which he influenced the school’s curriculum, led a committee charged with improving conditions for Black students, and shepherded the flourishing of Jewish life on campus.
Rosovsky died Nov. 11 at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he lived and worked since joining the Harvard faculty in 1965. He was 95.
“His legacy continues to influence the experience of every person on our campus today,” Harvard President Lawrence Bacow, who is Jewish, says. “With his passing, Harvard has lost one of its greatest champions and its finest citizens.”
At his funeral at Temple Israel of Boston, Rosovsky was remembered by family, colleagues and friends for his brilliance, witty humor, love of tennis and jazz, and his sage advice and mentorship.
His daughter, Leah Rosovsky, said her father took his greatest satisfaction in the role he played in establishing what is now Harvard’s African and African American Studies Program and recruiting its longtime chair, historian Henry Louis Gates Jr., who attended the funeral.
Born in a Jewish family on Sept. 1, 1927 in what is now Gdansk, Poland, Rosovsky immigrated to the United States with his parents and brother in 1940, after escaping the Nazis through France, Portugal, Spain, and Belgium. He volunteered for the U.S. Army in World War II and also served in the Korean War, according to an obituary published by Harvard. After graduating from the College of William & Mary, he arrived at Harvard for the first time in 1949 to pursue a doctorate in economics.
In 1965, he returned as a professor of economics, with a specialty in Japanese and Asian economic development. He would stay at the university for the rest of his career, shaping not only the Ivy League college, but Boston’s Jewish community.
As dean of Harvard’s College of Arts and Sciences from 1973 to 1991, Rosovsky led implementation of the school’s groundbreaking core curriculum. He also served two terms as Harvard’s acting president; was appointed a member of the Harvard Corporation, where he was the first Jew on the school’s governing body; and oversaw the establishment of Harvard’s Center for Jewish Studies.
In 1969, with student unrest spurring changes at many universities, Rosovsky led a committee to study the experience of Black students at Harvard. The resulting “Rosovsky report” urged the creation of a standalone department for African and African American studies and other steps to integrate and empower Black students. Rosovsky quit the committee after students were given equal say, a move that he said should have taken place only after careful study. He resumed his involvement shortly before his retirement in the 1990s, recruiting high-profile scholars including Gates to transform the department into an academic powerhouse.
Rosovsky’s 1990 book, The University: An Owner’s Manual, exposed outsiders to the complex operations of a research university. But the former dean was equally helpful to university insiders, Bacow says, noting the time Rosovsky devoted to doling out advice to college presidents. Several of Harvard’s presidents, including Drew Gilpin Faust, Lawrence H. Summers, and Neil Rudenstine, echoed that sentiment in published remarks at the celebration of his 90th birthday.
His reach extended beyond Harvard, too. As chair of the Boston Jewish federation’s strategic planning committee in the 1990s, Rosovsky shared his analytical expertise and his ability to bring people together to help chart a course for Boston’s Jewish community, according to Barry Shrage, who for decades led the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston.
“It was a turning point in terms of Jewish learning, adult Jewish education, building community at the grassroots and engaging synagogues,” Shrage told JTA in a conversation at the funeral. “It all emerged in the strategic plan.”
Shrage added, “He was a secular Jew but his Jewish identity deeply influenced his vision of the world.”
Rosovsky is survived by Nitza, his wife of 66 years and a former longtime curator of the Semitic Museum at Harvard; his children, Leah, Judy, and Michael and their spouses; four grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.
“He didn’t set out to trumpet his own Jewish identity,” Rabbi Jonah Steinberg, Harvard Hillel’s executive director, told JTA in 2017 about Rosovsky. “By being very honestly who they are, they were an example to others.”
Employment Opportunity Development Strategist
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Tidewater Jewish Foundation (TJF) is a $125 million regional community foundation which supports the Jewish communities of Southeastern Virginia. TJF supports the development, investment, and management of endowment funds for numerous area agencies and synagogues including two Jewish day schools, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Beth Sholom Village, and Jewish Family Service. The Development Strategist should integrate presentation delivery, have active listening skills, and probing techniques to cultivate relatedness through dialogue. In concert with and trained by the CEO, the Development Strategist will shape TJF’s multi-generational endowment development plan including teen philanthropy, LIFE & LEGACY, and Jewish Future Pledge Programs.
Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree with at least two (2) years’ experience in one or more of the following: marketing, financial planning, sales, community relations, development/fundraising, foundations and/or grant making. Non-profit experience not required; however, is a plus. Proficient use of MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Adobe Acrobat, required. Salesforce experience a plus; ability to work within and understand customized database to include becoming proficient. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.
Complete job description at www.jewishva.org/TJF
Submit cover letter, resume, and salary requirements to: resumes@ujft.org Attn: Taffy Hunter, Human Resources director.
EOE
