In 1981, Hannah Adelman and her husband, Phil, moved from Cleveland to Phoenix so that Hannah could serve as the principle of Temple Beth Israel, under the guidance of Rabbi B. Charles Herring.
North Central couple Phil and Hannah Adelman will be honored for years of volunteer service at a special brunch event Sunday, June 3 (submitted photo).
Nearly two decades later, Hannah took a job as the activities director at Maryland Gardens, a senior living community near Central and Maryland avenues. She soon discovered that Jewish residents at Maryland Gardens didn’t have access to a synagogue for praying. Hannah then became a lay reader so she could provide this weekly service to the residents there.
Hannah felt there was a need for this holy gathering at other faculties, so she started calling around to other retirement living centers, such as The Terraces, Madison Meadows and The Beatitudes, to offer the weekly service. In each instance, the answer was an enthusiastic “yes.”
For the next 18 years, Hannah, with assistance from Phil, a retired Air Force pilot, performed the Jewish services for more than 20 senior facilities around the Valley, each and every month.
Though they now live in one of those retirement facilities—The Beatitudes, at 555 W. Glendale Ave.—they still perform these free holy services for members of the Jewish community living in senior communities. Many non-Jewish members of these centers attend the services as well.
For all their years of service to the Jewish community, a “Here’s to Life” celebration in their honor will take place 12:30 p.m. Sunday, June 3, at the Orange Tree Resort, 10601 N. 56 St.
The event is being organized by Marc Adelman (no relation), who met the couple more than 10 years ago when they visited a retirement home where he was working. “It was Hannah and Phil who helped jump-start my life and to make me the better person that I am today,” Marc says. “I’m here to represent the many lives that Hannah and Phil have touched over the years.”
The event will be a buffet brunch with a tribute celebration featuring keynote speaker Mary Jo West, the first woman to anchor the news in Phoenix, and the music of Jeff Lowy (piano) and his son, Anthony (guitar). Tickets are $40. For tickets and to view the menu, visit http://celebration4.ticketspice.com/adelman-tribute. For more information or to reserve a group of seats, call 602-544-5129 or e-mail madelman980@gmail.com.
