By Diana Brement,
JTNews Columnist
Helene Israel tells me she was so consumed mourning her late husband, Jerry, that she never put an obituary in the paper. But now that she’s had a chance to recover from his death a year ago, she wanted to share an honor he received shortly before he passed.
Gerald Israel was born and raised in Seattle and attended Franklin High School. A six-foot, three-inch “teddy bear” of a man, he worked as a warehouseman and a truck driver. A heart condition forced him to stop working seven years ago.
He chose to volunteer at John Rogers Elementary in north Seattle where Helene has worked as an administrative assistant for more than 20 years. He helped in the office, worked with kids in after-school clubs, bandaged scraped knees, and made “hundreds of ice packs weekly,” says Helene, “to help [kids’] “˜owies’ feel better.”
The thing that brought him the most joy, though, and earned him the love of all the students, was his Friday morning popcorn routine. Arriving at school at 7 a.m., he’d pop batches of popcorn and make hundreds of bags of it. After lunch, kids would line up to buy a bag for a quarter. The kids called him Popcorn Jerry and the money went for programs at the school. (If a kid didn’t have a quarter, Jerry would provide one.)
In June of last year the John Rogers PTA awarded Jerry a Golden Acorn award, a Washington state PTA-sponsored volunteer recognition.
The past few years, Jerry continued his duties while in chemotherapy and radiation treatment for kidney cancer. When the PTA saw that Jerry was becoming weak, they banded together for a Popcorn Jerry Day, helping him pop and bag the popcorn after which they gave free bags to all the students and staff at the school.
Six weeks after receiving the award, Jerry succumbed to cancer on July 27, 2008.
Last month, John Rogers students, parents and staff dedicated a bench beside a tree in front of the school in his honor. The plaque there reads: “In celebration of a faithful friend and caring volunteer “˜Popcorn’ Jerry Israel.”
Jerry’s brother, David Israel, his daughter, Trishana Israel-Pearson and grandson Noah Israel were all there with Helene to witness it. The school didn’t know it, but June 16, the day of the dedication, would have been Helene and Jerry’s 41st wedding anniversary.
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I’ve enjoyed following the baseball careers of former Issaquah residents Robert and Richard Stock. Grandpa Sidney Stock (and Grandma Jennifer) of Bellevue has kept us up to date as these talented players moved through stellar youth sports “careers” and now onto the major leagues.
The boys graduated “summa cum laude” from the Stroum JCC preschool in 1995 and 1996 respectively (Grandpa’s little joke) and, “were recently drafted by the St. Louis and Milwaukee major league baseball franchises,” says Sidney. Robert, selected in the second round as a catcher, will play in the Appalachian rookie league. This is not surprising for a kid who was ranked second best 12-year-old in the U.S., then first best at ages 13, 14 and 15 by Baseball America magazine. ESPN magazine named him youth player of the year at 15. He has played twice for the Junior Olympics, setting the strike-out record for the series against Cuba.
“He skipped his senior year of high school,” writes Sidney, “to enter USC at 16 and become starting catcher, closing and starting pitcher.”
Not to be left behind, Richard was also drafted as a catcher.
“Richard was most valuable player at Agoura High School as a sophomore and junior,” says Sidney, but a low back stress fracture led to a limited senior year. The Braves have taken that into account, and if he does well in summer ball they may improve their offer.
Robert and Richard’s parents are Randi and Gregg Stock, now of Westlake Village, Calif. In a funny turnaround, Gregg heard from hockey star Wayne Gretzky — “The Great One” — before and after the draft to wish the boys luck and to offer congratulations. It turns out Gretzky’s son is a serious youth baseball player, too, and had often played against Robert growing up, so Gregg and Wayne have spent a lot of time at tournaments chatting about baseball.
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Jewish Day School teacher Gail Ben-Meir has been selected to receive a Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award for excellence in Jewish education.
“We are thrilled that Gail’s expertise and dynamic teaching are being recognized,” said associate head of school Cindy Benedek, who calls Gail “dedicated and passionate.”
Gail has been at JDS for only two years but is a long-time area educator, having spent 17 years at the Stroum JCC on Mercer Island. She traces her teaching career back to working as a swim instructor during her teen years.
This summer, Gail is directing the Sephardic Adventure Camp. In November she’ll travel to Washington, D.C. to receive her award along with 60 other honorees. There’s information about the foundation at www.grinspoonsteinhardt.org and more about the school at www.jds.org.