Rosenshein ‘a fundraising dynamo’ for the Hamilton Jewish community
Phil Rosenshein was such a powerhouse fundraiser for the Jewish community he got the nickname Mr. JNF — Mr. Jewish National Fund.
The former appliance store owner, who died June 17, just shy of his 100th birthday on Aug. 1, was relentless in getting funds for the group that organizes the annual Negev dinner for Israel.
His daughter, Louise Cowitz, said the JNF told her that her father raised “a few million dollars.” He received many awards and last year was presented with a JNF Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2010, he was honoured at the Negev dinner in which actor Henry Winkler was the guest speaker.
Rosenshein would call on people repeatedly and also call people on the list of other JNF fundraisers.
“He was a fundraising dynamo for many causes, including, of course, the State of Israel,” Tom Weisz, president and CEO of Effort Trust, said at his June 20 funeral at the United Hebrew Memorial Chapel.
“We all determined it was best to say ‘yes’ in the first place than get his phone calls in the future.”
Rosenshein began fundraising and volunteering in his 20s. Some of his other causes were the United Jewish Appeal, B’nai Brith, Shalom Village, Beth Jacob Synagogue and the Beverly Golf and Country Club, where he was a longtime member along with many people from the Jewish community. Golf was his favourite game and he had a 12 handicap. He even made a hole-in-one in 1974.
Beth Jacob opened a small museum in 2013 about the history of the Hamilton Jewish community and named it after Rosenshein and his wife Rose. He had began a lottery for the synagogue when he was in his 30s.
He was inducted into the B’nai Brith Hall of Fame in 2015. He served on the first B’nai Brith sports dinner fundraising committee in 1951.
Rosenshein told The Spec in 2017 that he always wanted to give back to the community because “I’ve gotten so much love.”
Louise said her father could get grumpy if his constant appeals did not garner a donation, but she said he had time for everybody.
“If he had a friend who wasn’t well, he would be there,” said Louise. “We had to put my dog to sleep. He came with me. He had a lot of passion for many things.”
This included being “groomed to perfection.”
“He always wore dress pants, a jacket and a vest,” she said. “Even if he was going to the doctor’s office. He never owned a pair of jeans.”
Rosenshein was born in Poland on Aug. 1, 1922. His parents, Itzik and Friment, brought him and his siblings to Hamilton in 1924 and settled on Emerald Street North. His father sold wares from a horse and wagon.
Rosenshein began working when he was 16 and sold cars. He and his partner, Rusty Ruch, opened an auto parts and appliance store called Midtown at King Street East and Sherman Avenue North in 1947. The partners switched to just appliances and opened stores on York Street in Brantford and Kitchener.
On the Spectator’s 170th anniversary in 2016, the paper honoured Rosenshein as it’s longest-known subscriber. He had been taking the paper for 73 years. Louise said her father got it until August of 2021, making it 78 years.
Rosenshein is survived by daughter, Louise, three grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. He was predeceased by Rose in 2012.