JCCGCI Celebrates Legacy of Jona Goldrich, Holocaust survivor and entrepreneur

2022-12-06

When Lindsay Cayton decided to devote her limited free time to volunteering to visit and deliver hot meals to Holocaust survivors, she was thinking about her grandfather's experiences. Jona Goldrich was born in 1927 in Lvov, Poland. He fled his home at the age of 14, managing to escape the Nazis with his little brother. His entire immediate family that remained behind perished soon after.

As a young adult, Jona emigrated from Israel to the United States, settling in Los Angeles with only $50 in his pocket. Over the years, he built a real estate empire, leading one of California's largest housing development and management companies. But Jona was best known for his philanthropic work. He created the Goldrich Family Foundation, supporting Jewish causes and charitable organizations across the world. His passion project, though, was Holocaust education and awareness. To that end, he founded the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum. When he passed away in June of 2016, it was with a long legacy of professional, personal, and philanthropic achievements.

Years later, his granddaughter Lindsay found herself yearning to connect with survivors. She partnered with Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island's Connect2 Program Director Elisheva Lock, who manages a large volunteer network that serve Holocaust survivors across New York City. Lindsay didn't just donate her time - she was inspired to provide a sizeable grant to the program from her family's foundation - the Cayton Goldrich Foundation.

Rabbi Moshe Wiener, Executive Director of Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island, said, "As the generation that survived the Holocaust dwindles, their needs grow. Supporting survivors so they may age with dignity is a critical imperative, one that Lindsay and her family are taking on with gusto. Our Connect 2 program provides a deeply valued service to survivors, ensuring that they have hot meals as well as social connections. JCCGCI is profoundly grateful to the Cayton Goldrich Foundation and Lindsay for their remarkable commitment to the survivor community. The many accomplishments of Jona Goldrich ought to be celebrated, but none more vigorously than his work in ensuring that the Holocaust would not be forgotten, nor its victims. May his memory continue to be a blessing for the world and for his family."

Lindsay Cayton said, "I always knew my grandfather was a Holocaust survivor, but it was never talked about directly between my grandfather and I. Partially because he did not want to discuss this part of his life and partially because I was too young to ask. But for as long as I can remember, I was always educating myself on the events of the Holocaust and fascinated by movies and books about people's individual stories. It wasn’t until I was nearing the end of high school that the weight of this fact started to register with me. I wanted to do something to connect my everyday life to something so important to me. For my senior project, I curated a gallery show with portraits of survivors and their stories. This was the first time I heard my grandfather tell me his story firsthand.

"Going into college, and being away from home and my community, I was able to take a step back and see how proud I was to be who I am, proud of who my grandfather was and proud to be Jewish. Over the past few years since my grandpa has passed, it has become extremely important to me to follow in his charitable footsteps and immerse myself in the Jewish community while also making sure I am doing my part in learning and educating those around me about the Holocaust for when those who lived it no longer can. I was fortunate enough to attend the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 2020 where I stood alongside survivors in Poland at the concentration camp where many of them fought for their lives decades beforehand.

"I am part of the 3G community (third generation of descendants of survivors), which I believe is a critical generation for our future, especially with the rise of anti-Semitism. This notion of educating future generations is what has driven me to engage in my work with Holocaust awareness and survivor communities.

"When I saw the opportunity to donate and volunteer my time to deliver meals for Holocaust Survivors, I knew I had to get involved. I cried delivering each meal. To know these individuals, hear their stories and make them feel loved and seen is so impactful and fulfilling. I’m enthusiastic about partnering with the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island (JCCGCI) and Connect 2 to continue to provide emotional, physical, and spiritual support to our dear Holocaust Survivors, through these weekly shabbat meals and friendly deliveries.

"I know my grandpa would be very proud of me today."

“It’s important for me to teach the younger generation about the Holocaust. The world wants us to forget the biggest horror mankind ever created, the murder of six million Jews by a country that was, at the time, considered the most cultured and enlightened in the world. I am fighting against forgetting.”

Jona Goldrich

A Legacy of Purpose: Jona Goldrich's Story

Jona Goldrich was born in 1927 in Lvov, Poland. He fled his home and the brutality of the Nazis at the age of 14 in a dramatic trek across Eastern Europe with his younger brother Avram, leaving behind his parents, older brother and extended family who perished soon after. He and his brother were able to make it to Haifa, Israel, (then Palestine), where Jona was educated and later served in the Palmach division in Israel’s War of Independence. After beginning a degree in mechanical engineering from the Technion, he immigrated to America, venturing from Boston to LA on a bus with $50 in his pocket. First working as a window screen installer, he then began a construction cleanup operation which rapidly morphed in to one of California’s largest housing development and management companies. As one of the founders of Goldrich and Kest, he derived great satisfaction in his career, and was proudly seated behind his desk at his Culver City office until just days before his passing in June of 2016.

In addition to Jona’s real estate success, he continued the family legacy of “Tikun Olam” or repairing the world. He was born into a prominent Jewish family who stressed the importance of education and charitable giving. Growing up, every Friday evening his parents would invite those less fortunate into their home for Sabbath dinner and to distribute Challah to the hungry. The family’s emphasis on education and philanthropy set the stage for Goldrich’s direction in life. He led by example creating the Goldrich Family Foundation which supports many Jewish causes and programs worldwide. The foundations focus is promoting social justice through Holocaust remembrance and awareness. Jona was a pillar of the Jewish community. His crowning achievement was creating the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust in Pan Pacific Park so that future generations can learn about the atrocities the Nazi’s committed with the hope that they are never repeated. The Museum is his most important philanthropic legacy.

Jona was an avid skier; tennis, backgammon and poker player and always had a smile on his face. Jona Goldrich is survived by his wife of 56 years Doretta, daughters Melinda Goldrich and Andrea Goldrich Cayton, son in law Barry Cayton and grandchildren, Garrett, Lindsay and Derek Cayton.

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