Deborah Lerner Gross z"l

June 6, 1958 - February 12, 2001

Deborah Lerner was born and raised in Brooklyn. Her father was an attorney and her mother taught English at Erasmus High School. Mrs. Lerner spent her last years in San Francisco where she passed away in June 2006. Debbie attended the Yeshiva of Flatbush through High School, as did her two older sisters Elayne and Naomi, and then graduated with Honors from Barnard College. Debbie worked after college at the Jewish Museum in New York and at the B’nai B’rith Klutznick Museum in Washington.

Debbie and her husband Joel Gross moved to Washington in the spring of 1981 for Debbie to attend law school. She graduated in 1984 from the George Washington University Law School where she served as Managing Editor of the Law Review and then clerked for Judge William Pryor, Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. She was an associate at Pilsbury, Madison and Sutro. Subsequently, she was “of Counsel” to the law firm of King and Spalding, where her practice was focused on litigation and antitrust matters.

Mother of three children, Sarah, Gabriel and Talia, Debbie was an active member of Woodside Synagogue, and devoted much time and talent to many community causes, including the Ohr Kodesh Early Childhood Center, the Board of Jewish Education, the Jewish Federation and the Chevra Kadisha. The center of Debbie’s communal activities was the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy. She served as trustee of the school and as member of its Executive Board. An energetic supporter and enthusiastic advocate of the school’s Torah Mitzion Kollel, Debbie also served as the Lower School P.T.A. Representative and had been slated to be the next P.T.A. President before her death.

Debbie was an inexhaustible source of energy, inspiration and deep commitment. She imbued every part of her life as a wife, mother, attorney and community leader with joy, love and an appreciation of the creative spirit in each person. The energy behind all her endeavors- personal, professional and communal- was complemented by her outstanding intellect and grace. Her involvement in Jewish life and culture was deep. She had a special appreciation for artistic and cultural expression and promoted its advancement in every area.

Debbie died on February 12, 2001 (20 Shevat 5761) at the age of 42, after a long and courageous fight against breast cancer. Her special appreciation of artistic and cultural expression inspired the creation of the Deborah Lerner Gross Jewish Cultural Arts Center as a lasting tribute to Debbie and the values she held so dear. It is our wish that the wonderful programs and activities that the center is bringing to the school will be an illui neshama for Debbie. With G-d’s help, we are confident the center will continue to grow as a thing of beauty that will always be associated with a person of great beauty.