Farewell to Donald Joseph z"l

Donald on Purim, as another Donald.
Photo courtesy of Barb Pearson

Betsy Teutsch, for GJC Centre Call

Donald Joseph z”l was a beloved Dorshei Derekh member for over 35 years, attending most every week and sitting in the front row--except for summers in Maine. He passed away this past April after a long decline. We send heartfelt condolences to Harriet, Rachel and Aden, Seth and Bonnie.

Over the decades, Donald loved Dorshei Derekh openly and expansively. He filled many roles in our minyan, both formal (longtime Treasurer, Membership Co-Chair, and Stefan Presser Social Justice Shabbat Chair), as well as informal, as a befriender and mentor.

Deborah Weinstein shared a COVID-era email correspondence with Donald, when she and Dick joined Dorshei Derekh:

“Welcome to Dorshei Derekh, where spirit, singing, intellect and community join in a single wonderful minyan.”

In the wider world, Donald’s first passion was teaching, though he spent many years lawyering at Wolf Block. We were around as he shared his exhilarating transition to teaching law school. Donald generously offered his legal skills to many. Ruth Loew, an Elkins Park neighbor, recalls how he “was always happy to help our kids find resources for school projects involving the legal system.” Indeed, their son Gabe joined Donald in the legal profession.

Donald was fiercely committed to correcting PA’s school funding inequity, chiefly through his 30-year Board service to Public Interest Law Center (PILC). He invited us all to City Hall when PILC announced the victorious results of the interminable case, at last declaring the Pennsylvania educational funding formula unconstitutional.

Unbeknownst to many of us, Donald was actually a mathematician, having done his undergraduate degree at MIT. This came out in his annual birthday davar torah and kiddush, when he divulged his age in a complex sequence of factors of prime numbers. Leah Weisman fondly remembers Donald recruiting her to lead chanting services for birthday celebrations.

He loved singing (loudly), and urged others to join him up front. Naomi Klayman noted his vocal leadership. She was inspired to take voice lessons in part to, as Shelichat Tsibur, better lead Dorshei Derekh in the key SHE picked.  “After three voice lessons, at the age of 68, I discovered a singing voice that I never knew that I had. I attribute that discovery largely to Donald’s enthusiastic participation in our services each Shabbat. He is deeply missed!”

When our cherished Dorshei Derekh member Stefan Presser was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and could no longer work, Donald organized us (pre-internet!) to visit Stefan for lunches and visits. For fifteen years after Stefan’s untimely death, Donald headed up the committee planning the annual Stefan Presser Social Justice shabbat. The Stefan Presser topics had a big impact on the Dorshei Derekh community, and on the bigger GJC community, as well.

Do you recall Donald’s personal, over-stuffed copy of our Siddur, Kol Haneshamah? One of the artifacts in it was a thank-you from our daughter Nomi, for her bat mitzvah gift. “Thank you Donald for the [whatever it was], and for smiling at me every shabbat!” He always went out of his way to reach out to others.

Donald enjoyed meeting up with fellow Dorshei Derekh members over lunch. Nina Israel and he forged a strong friendship over many such get-togethers. “What an amazing characteristic Donald had to make each person seen and heard…. He made me more self-aware. Who does that? Donald’s explanation was, ‘Well, I have spent more money on therapy than most people do for graduate school.’” Nina was very devoted to visiting Donald when he was incapacitated, seeing him frequently through his last years.

Donald took Heather Shafter under his wing and we are all the better for it - she just joined GJC’s Executive Committee. 

In Heather’s own words, “When I started attending Shabbat services, Donald always invited me to sit next to him. He told me that the closer you are to the front, the more ruach you get. He explained we would get more holiness at the front! I was down for that, so we sat in the front row together from that point forward. 

“Not even a year into my membership at Dorshei Derekh, Dayle Friedman asked me if I would be the Membership Coordinator. I was honored to be asked, but I’ve never been good at doing things on a schedule. I told her I would need a co-coordinator to make sure I did my job. So Donald became my co-coordinator. He told me, ‘I know how to make the trains run on time.’ He had many opinions about what the communications and reports should look like, and what other things we should be doing as membership co-coordinators, but he also allowed me the majority vote. 

“During the pandemic, Donald and I decided to talk on the phone every Saturday after Dorshei Derekh’s Zoom service. This is when we really got to know each other. I learned from Donald about Mussar, and how it can help improve not only my personal experience, but also my most important relationships. Donald became one of my closest friends. I would not have anticipated that, and I was grateful for it.”

Farewell, Donald. Your memory is absolutely a blessing.