JEROME H. GROSSMAN

BANGOR and WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Jerome H. Grossman, passed away June 26, 2007, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Jerry was born June 28, 1918, in Brooklyn, N.Y., the son of Benjamin and Sadie Grossman. He is survived by his devoted and cherished wife of 62 years, Edith (Kagan); and their three children, Richard (Joyce), Mark (Ilene) and Beth; as well as five grandchildren, Stephanie, Elise, Jennifer, David, and Ashley. Jerry graduated from Erasmus Hall, Brooklyn and then matriculated at Brooklyn College before entering the Army Air Corps in 1943. He served in the military with distinction and was honorably discharged as a first lieutenant after the conclusion of the war. Ede and Jerry met and fell in love in 1944 in Bangor, where he was stationed at Dow Air Force Base. They were married Feb. 11, 1945, in Boston, and returned to Bangor to begin a family. Jerry entered the family shoe manufacturing business, Penobscot Shoe Co., co-founded by his father-in-law, Max Kagan, where he worked for more than 40 years, retiring after having served on the company’s board of directors as vice president and treasurer. In business, as everywhere else, Jerry displayed a common touch and an admirable empathy, as evidenced throughout the years by the obvious, genuine mutual warmth and respect between him and the handsewers and machine operators who worked under him at the company. Successful in business, Jerry’s real passions, however, centered around golf and photography, and he had unique talents in both avocations. He was a member of both Pinewood Golf Club, Lucerne, where he won several club championships and Penobscot Valley Country Club, Orono. Jerry imparted his enthusiasm for the game of golf to his wife and children, with whom he shared much laughter and relaxation during countless enjoyable rounds on courses in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Florida. While keeping the home they built in Bangor, for more than 50 years, Ede and Jerry made a second home at the President Country Club, West Palm Beach, Fla., in the early 1970s where they began to spend increasing time, becoming full-time residents there during the past two decades and enjoying many wonderful friends. Having considerable flair with a camera, Jerry’s photography was a constant source of pleasure to family and friends, for whom he catalogued so many meaningful moments and memories both in Bangor and West Palm Beach, Fla. Long before the advent of video cameras and digital photography, Jerry developed his own photographic prints in his downstairs dark room in Bangor. He also created slide shows and movies, splicing film to produce trick photography to the delight of family and friends. In recent years, Jerry’s panoramic photographs of the President Country Club Golf Course so captured the essence and beauty of the grounds that they have been enlarged, framed, and placed on permanent display at the club. Throughout his life, Jerry was engaged in Jewish philanthropy, serving variously on committees and as a fund-raising chairman for UJA, Federation, and Israel Bonds both in Bangor and at the President Country Club, West Palm Beach, Fla. He also served for many years as a trustee of the Max Kagan Family Foundation. He was a longtime member of Beth Israel Synagogue, Bangor and of Temple Emanu-El, Palm Beach, Fla. Jerry Grossman’s integrity and moral stance were hallmarks of his being. He relished time with his family, doting on his grandchildren from whom he derived much joy and whose life cycle events he proudly celebrated. Jerry was a warm, caring man with a dry sense of humor whose humanity touched all those who knew him. He will forever be deeply missed by his beloved Ede and family, as well as so many friends who will likewise cherish his memory. The funeral service will be held noon Friday, June 29, at the Jewish Chapel, 96 Center St., Bangor. Burial will be at Beth Israel Cemetery. Shiva will be observed 2 p.m. until sunset at the home of Paula Kagan in Orono. There will be a memorial service in West Palm Beach, Fla., at a date yet to be determined. Donations in his memory may be sent to Hospice of Palm Beach County, 5300 East Ave., West Palm Beach, FL 33407 or to the American Cancer of Maine, care of Eastern Maine Charities, P.O. Box 404, Bangor, ME 04402-0404. A service of Brookings-Smith, Bangor.