Adult children proud of father’s gift to community

By DEBORAH MOON

article created on: 2009-05-14T00:00:00

Born to an affluent German-Jewish Portland family early last century, Stuart Durkheimer told his three children he didn’t believe his father did enough for the community.

His children (Barbara, Julie and Alan Durkheimer) will never say that about their father, who died Feb. 23 at the age of 87.

“We all three support and admire the values our father and mother had,” said Barbara in discussing their father’s $1 million gift to the community. “I admire their ability to see beyond family as to needs.”

“They helped teach us the sense of responsibility,” said Alan, who lives in Idaho. “We’ve all interpreted what our responsibilities are individually.”

“My children are proud of their grandfather and appreciate what he’s done,” added Julie of the extension of that pride.

Prior to his wife Leah’s death in 2000, Durkheimer and his wife decided to create a $1 million family fund at the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation and to buy life insurance naming the Oregon Community Foundation as beneficiary; that policy’s value at his death was $232,731.

Until his death, Durkheimer distributed interest from the fund at OJCF to an average of 24 Jewish and secular organizations each year. With his death, the principle will be divided among 20 organizations with the largest sum going to the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. Other top recipients include Congregation Beth Israel, Cedar Sinai Park, Jewish Family and Child Service, Oregon Community Foundation and Portland Public School Foundation.

Both parents were actively involved as volunteers with many of those organizations. Leah was a president of JFCS, and was very active at CBI, the Visiting Nurse Association, Scouts and PTAs. Stuart served as president of CBI and served on the board of CSP, Oregon Symphony and Friendly Rosenthal. He was also actively involved with the JFGP annual campaign.

“So volunteering of themselves as well as committing dollars was very much part of their lives,” said Barbara. “They wanted to be leaders amongst their peers as well as family to show the need to support organizations in the community.”

“I feel dad’s mission was to heal the world,” said Julie. “He recognized needs and had quiet wisdom that tried to fill needs others might not recognize.”

“They had a strong value system in education and social welfare,” she added.

The value they placed in education extended to their grandchildren, for whom they paid college tuition.

And now the funds at Oregon Community Foundation will go “to aid in endeavors in childhood and early adolescent development,” including teacher training, parent education and programs such as Head Start and I Have a Dream.    

Barbara said the Jewish community was extremely important to her father—a sentiment that was ingrained perhaps by his 1937 visit to Germany as one of very few Jews at the World Scout Jamboree.

“He believed in the institutions,” said Barbara. “Without the synagogues, JFCS, Robison, we aren’t providing a framework of support to the community. … To sustain Judaism has been important.”

So now as his children grieve, they also look back with pride.

“How we honored and revered and took care of our dad in later years is a testimony (to that pride),” said Julie. “Our unanimous goal was to give back beyond what he gave to us out of respect for his values.”