Fraternity-Testvériség, 1964 (42. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1964-01-01 / 1. szám
2 FRATERNITY perpetuated and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth’ ... So he blessed them that day . . . Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers.’ ” Genesis 48:1-21. Using the above Old Testament passage as his text, Dr. Joachim Prinz, internationally known Rabbi of the South Orange, N. J., Jewish Synagogue, preached the funeral sermon and said his last farewell to our dear friend and co-worker, Jack H. Zeitlin, accountant and business advisor of our Federation for over 35 years. Although life proves over and over again that no one knows what tomorrow holds, no one suspected that Jack Zeitlin would not be with us at our forthcoming 1964 Convention! Who would have thought that he was to follow so soon his business associate and our actuary, Frank Gary, the head of the actuarial firm which has served our Federation for many years and whose sudden death occurred just a month earlier? The truth is, however, that after having spent more than one-half of his lifetime in giving of his talent and “honest best” to promote the progress of our fraternal organization — the growth of which he witnessed from a small sick and death benefit society to a 14-million- dollar legal reserve fraternal — he is gone from our midst . . . This unalterable truth is sad and shocking. After the last Supreme Council meeting, which he attended in September, he happily told his many friends that he and Mrs. Zeitlin had planned a fortieth wedding anniversary trip abroad, culminating in a dream of his: a visit to the land of his forefathers, Israel. The dream came true, the trip was completed . . . but Jack Zeitlin came home a sick man. His old heart condition recurred after sixteen years. Though he received loving care from his beloved wife and children, encouragement from his associates and friends; though he felt that his rest in Florida would bring back his health, a sudden attack took his life on December 20, a day before his sixty-fifth birthday, which he had planned to celebrate with his children and grandchildren at home. God had other plans. Jack Zeitlin’s family and business associates suffered a great loss in his passing . . . but so did our big family, the Hungarian Reformed Federation. Especially so the officers and members of the Supreme Council. We lost not only a big-hearted, generous man, but also a brilliant insurance and investment mind. He will be hard to replace, because he was a friend, a gracious, warm-hearted, amiable gentleman . . . and in business the beating heart of the Federation to which he always referred warmly as his “pet”, because, he said, they grew up together. The Secretary, Treasurer, Controller and Legal Counsellor represented our Federation at his funeral, which was held on December 22, 1963. Having been away on a trip, our President could not attend. Many members of our Eastern Field Force also paid their last respects. The man of God, the family man, the wise and successful businessman, as he was characterized by his Rabbi — and we concur with this characterization — was born on December 21, 1898, of immigrant
