Frank H Newman

Frank H. Newman

Long time Executive Vice President of the Jewish Federation of greater Indianapolis and later the JCF Endowment fund died at the age of 98, Saturday morning at Hooverwood. His tenure as Federation executive was filled with numerous accomplishments including the building of the Jewish Community Campus where he proudly spent the last few months of his long life.

Born in Chicago in 1913, Newman graduated from George Williams College with a degree in Group Work Education and received a Master of Social Work from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis Missouri. Newman's Jewish Community service began in Yonkers, New York and then moved to St. Louis, where he was on the staffs of their Jewish Community Center. He went on to become the Federation director in Gary, Indiana for eight years. In Gary he was one of the founders of the National Association of Social Workers Chapter in that area and was budget chairman for the United Fund of Gary. Following Gary he served on the administrative staffs of the Chicago and the New York metropolitan areas. He came to Indianapolis from Newark, N.J., where he was with the Jewish Federation and served as consultant on fund raising and health and welfare planning to 45 communities over an 11-state area and Canada. He came to Indianapolis in December of 1959.

Frank Newman was a World War II veteran serving as a Sergeant in the Medical Corp in Europe and the United States. During his tenure in Indianapolis, Federation campaigns grew steadily and placed Indianapolis "at the forefront of communities of its size" according to a 1975 quote from community leader Marty Larner. Newman was chairman of the Finance Committee of Inter-Faith Housing and on the Board of the Visiting Nurses Association. Newman also served on the boards of Planned Parenthood, the Indianapolis Repertory Theater, Daymar and Dance Kaleidoscope, Ballet International, Girls Club of Indianapolis, United Way, Community Credit Counseling, Legal Aid Society, and FBI Citizen's Academy. He was a long time member of Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation and Broadmoor Country Club.

Newman's influence on the Jewish Community of Indianapolis was so significant that it is hard to understand unless you lived through it. During his tenure there was a strengthening of relationships between the synagogues and Federation, the building of a community mikvah and the expansion of the Jewish Community Campus. Community leaders have commented over the years about how much of an influence he had on them and how much Frank impacted their involvement in the Jewish Community and in philanthropy in general. The Jewish Community Endowment Fund began under his leadership and he headed it after retiring as Federation director. Many individuals in the original Young Leadership Development program started by Newman went on to become the fabric of the community's philanthropy over the 30 year period of his leadership. The Newman Award is given each year to the most outstanding community professional for that year.

Frank Newman is survived by his wife of 65 years, Dorothy Selig Newman, his son Robert (Jan) of Hillsborough California, and two daughters, Terry Bernstein (Richard) of St. Louis, Missouri, and Nancy Reiter of Indianapolis. Grandchildren include Lauren Bernstein, David Bernstein, Julie Bernstein, Jessica Reiter, and Katie Reiter.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Frank H. Newman Charitable Fund c/o the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis. Services will be held on Monday Dec. 12, 2011 at 2p.m. at the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation; 6501 N. Meridian St. with the burial at the Indianapolis Hebrew Cemetery North. Arrangements entrusted to Aaron-Ruben-Nelson Mortuary.