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March 11, 2005/Adar I 30 5765, Volume 57, No. 28
Grossman leaves deep legacy of commitment
JENNIFER GOLDBERG
Staff Writer
Friends, family, colleagues and admirers filled the sanctuary of Temple Chai in Phoenix on March 6 to pay a final tribute to Harold Grossman, who died March 3 at the age of 78.
"As we gather at the close of Harold's life, it seems only appropriate to acknowledge that Harold and Jean have been our leaders in every sense of the word; that the benefit of their contribution to our community is immeasurable," Bobbi Kurn said, reading a statement her husband Neal Kurn, past Jewish Community Foundation president, had prepared.
When Harold and Jean Grossman moved to Phoenix from Minneapolis in 1981, Harold was 55 years old and newly retired from the Gelco Corporation he had founded with his brother.
Whereas other couples might see a post-retirement move to a desert paradise as an excuse to slow down, the Grossmans transferred their tireless commitment to the Jewish people to the still-small Phoenix Jewish community.
"When he interviewed me 24 years ago ... he really just needed me to keep track of things like his calendar, which was extremely filled from sunup to way past sundown," recalled Judy Johnson, Grossman's longtime financial manager. "He said, 'Answer the phone, keep track of things for me, and if you get bored, just read a book.' I'm still waiting to read that book. In all these years, there's never been an idle moment."
The Grossmans quickly became involved with the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix (Harold was a board member in the late '80s and early '90s). When Michael Greenbaum of Scottsdale met them after he moved here in 1982, "I immediately took to Harold, and considered him to be the mentor for the Jewish community," he recalled. "Harold came from a wonderful community, Minneapolis, that had great leadership and a history of giving, and he brought that here. He was just an exemplary leader the minute he got off the boat, so to speak, and was inspiring to anybody who met him and knew him."
The Grossmans were extraordinary fund raisers; their contributions to the annual federation campaign and their dedication to inspiring others to give brought donation levels to new heights.
"If it were not for them, the campaign wouldn't be anywhere near what it is now," said Greenbaum. "Through their dedication, their commitment ... he and Jean single-handedly elevated the commitment level for the Jewish community of Greater Phoenix. There is nobody that's even a close second."
In 1997, the federation awarded Grossman its most prestigious award, the Medal of Honor, for his "lifelong commitment to improve the quality of life for Klal Yisrael and for the general community," according to the federation.
Other community-related projects of the Grossmans include the creation of a Jewish Studies chair at Arizona State University and the Israel Center at the federation.
"Few people are aware that the Israel Center that we now have at the federation began as a result of Harold and Jean," said Harold Morgan, past executive director of the federation and a longtime friend of the Grossmans. "There was no money in those days, none at all, and the two of them made that possible for two years until the community decided that we could afford it."
Morgan recalled when the couple "walked into my office one day, and they said, 'We think every Phoenician child should go to Israel, and we're prepared to help fund it.' "
The result was the Harold and Jean Grossman Teen Israel Experience Scholarship Fund, which to date has helped more than 300 local teenagers visit the Jewish state.
"He had come from a community where leadership and giving was expected, and he came here, and expected it here from everyone," explained Morgan. "And he was prepared to set the pace, set the tone, and he did it. He and Jean. They are very special people."
At the funeral, Johnson, Greenbaum and others celebrated Grossman's generosity, his dedication and his engaging personality.
"He just was a warm, exceptional human being," said Greenbaum, "One of the sweetest people I have ever known."
In her remarks, Johnson remarked on his sense of humor and love of family, and summed up his contribution to the community with a quote from Albert Pike: "What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains, and is immortal."
Harold Grossman is survived by his wife Jean of Scottsdale; daughters Nancy Leon of Ann Arbor, Mich., Mary Schuman of Ann Arbor, Mich., and Molly Levitt of Shawnee Mission, Kan.; sister, Marion Cohen; brother Bud; and six grandchildren.
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