JGS Lifecare Honors Memory of Seymour Frankel at Classic Day of Tournaments
LONGMEADOW — JGS Lifecare recently hosted its 40th annual Frankel-Kinsler Classic Day of Tournaments at Twin Hills Country Club in Longmeadow. Drawing more than 200 guests attracted to golf and card-playing tournaments, the event raised more than $115,000 to support senior care at the Leavitt Family Jewish Home, Ruth’s House Assisted Living, Sosin Center for Rehabilitation, Wernick Adult Day Health Care, Spectrum Home Health and Hospice Care, and Genesis House.
“We’re overwhelmed by the tremendous show of support from businesses and individuals throughout Western Massachusetts,” said Susan Halpern, director of Development. “Event proceeds will enrich programming and services for the more than 400 people cared for each day across the JGS Lifecare family of services, as well as support-staff skill and career advancement through the funding of educational scholarships.”
The Aug. 16 event honored the memory of Seymour Frankel, who passed away on Dec. 31. Frankel, a committed volunteer, was a founder of the event in 1981, named originally for the Raymond and Herman Kinsler families and later for Frankel’s son Michael, a past chairman of the JGS board who died suddenly in 2013 at age 49.
Tournament co-chair Jeff Grodsky underscored his great-uncle Seymour’s contributions, noting that “he worked tirelessly for this organization and a number of organizations in town, and he touched everyone in a special way.”
Attorney Stephen Krevalin, past board chairman, paid tribute to Frankel, who “shared an abiding and passionate commitment to care for our needy and our elderly, and in particular the Jewish Nursing Home of Western Massachusetts, now JGS Lifecare. The creation of the Kinsler golf classic 40 years ago was an incredibly important step to help us not only raise significant funds, but also share our compelling story with so many. And while the Kinsler tournament raised countless funds for JGS, it is but a small fraction of the contribution and ultimate legacy of Seymour Frankel. In the Jewish tradition, we ask that the memory of the deceased be a blessing. There is no question that Seymour Frankel’s life was truly a blessing.”
After a touching photo slideshow, Sue Kline, past board chair, presented an original poem highlighting Frankel’s many contributions — a fitting tribute to a man known for penning poems on every special occasion. View the tribute slide show and poem at jgslifecare.org/frankel-kinsler-highlights.
“As an organization whose majority of funding comes through Medicaid, the Frankel-Kinsler Classic is an enormously successful and fun way for us to engage the community to help provide fiscal resources for us to maintain our quality of care and enrich our programming,” Halpern added.