Music, Science and Tikkun Olam: Ed and Arlene Grossman’s Legacy

11/6/2017

Music, Science and Tikkun Olam: Ed and Arlene Grossman’s Legacy

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PLANNED GIVING

By Marna Schoen

Ed Grossman grew up enveloped by the arts. His father played piano by ear, his sister was a dancer who studied at the American School of Ballet, and his mother provided “motherly support” for their endeavors.

It’s no surprise then, that, years later, Ed continues to be very active in the arts community. Juilliard has become a very important part of his life. He spends a great deal of time there, attends concerts, and supports many of their programs. Ed also supports the future of musicians by supporting Boston University Tanglewood Institute, where he enjoys being a part of nurturing high school-level musicians.

He and his late wife Arlene shared their love of music and the arts, and it was at the center of their lives. They supported the New York Philharmonic for almost 35 years.

Ed grew up in New York City, attending P.S. 189 in Manhattan. He went to Stuyvesant High School, but when his family moved to Long Island, he attended Mineola High School. He was graduated from Mineola in 3 1/2 years and then headed to the University of Connecticut. There he was the Master (president) of his Alpha Epsilon Pi chapter, which was a very “maturing” process, he observed. Ed did well in college, and graduated Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi with a bachelor’s degree in English – all of which helped him be accepted to Harvard Business School, which had been his dream for many years.

Ed and Arlene Grossman standing outside of the auditorium named after them in the Cell and Genome Sciences Building at the UConn Health Center in 2010. Photo provided by the UConn Foundation

Attending Harvard Business School was an extraordinary, transformative experience. The diversity of his class with its large international student body created a rich learning and social environment. The atmosphere and approach to learning, using the case method, set the stage for his life. Ed was graduated in 1959, and remains close to the University and the Business School, in particular.

As he was growing up in New York, Judaism was an important and largely secular experience for Ed. He belonged to a local synagogue where he had his bar mitzvah. “I always identified with Judaism, Jewish causes and tikkun olam.”

After Harvard, Ed enlisted in the Air Force Reserves. He entered as an airman basic, was commissioned as a first lieutenant and was later promoted to captain. He continued with reserve duty for a number of years.

Ed’s work history is as rich as his cultural upbringing. His first job in department store retailing was at Burdines in Florida, a Federated Department Store chain that eventually became part of Macy’s. Ed left retailing and moved into advertising and marketing for almost 20 years. Then he took the big step to establish a business of his own, as founder, president and CEO of Marketing Resource, a wholesaler of general merchandise closeouts and book remainders.

Email: plannedgiving@bnaibrith.org

Ed met his beloved wife, Arlene Petroff, in East Hampton in 1969. At that time, Ed was still in advertising and Arlene was Director of Home Fashion for JCPenney.

Ed and Arlene Grossman shared a love of the arts and bought a house in Sheffield, Mass., where they took full advantage of the cultural activities in the Berkshires, including Tanglewood Music Festival and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. They commuted frequently from their Upper West Side apartment to their home in Sheffield.

When Arlene was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, the Grossmans decided to actively engage in estate planning, focusing their support on medical research, performing arts, social welfare, the environment and Judaism.

They selected the organizations to which they’d leave the bulk of their estates. The list includes the Weizmann Institute of Science, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Rockefeller University, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, the Harvard MD/MBA program, UConn Health Care, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, New York Community Trust, Juilliard and B’nai B’rith International.

“I always liked what B’nai B’rith did, and what they stood for. I’m big on tikkun olam, and it seemed that B’nai B’rith was a Jewish organization devoted to a lot of social welfare causes. B’nai B’rith struck a resonant note with us. I’ve been a supporter for almost 40 years.”

Ed and Arlene were together for 43 wonderful years at the time of her passing. Arlene’s legacy lives on in the organizations she and Ed so thoughtfully and purposefully committed to for generations to come.

For more information on how to leave a legacy with B’nai B’rith through your will or trust, please contact the Planned Giving office at (800) 656-5561; or by e-mail at plannedgiving@bnaibrith.org.