Pointe of View
Winter 2014/2015
Seniors Living in the Jewish Tradition
Report from the Administrator
Mary Julienne
“Winter Wonderland Gala”
Delights All Attending
25th Anniversary Gala a Smashing Success
Winter Wonderland Gala
Jodi and Martin Greenbaum
Barbara and Steven Klein
Idit and Moti Ferder
Jim and Myrtle Pinsky
Allison Pinsky, Jane Fischel, Petra Schaefer, Ellen Pinsky
Natalie and Lawrence Rael
Joe and Barbara Lebovitz
Herb and Loretta Modelevsky, Cantor Susan Deutsch,
Meryl and Hank Schrimmer
Honorees Irv Burg, Ira Victer, Ellie Jaffy (Allen*), Denny Denkensohn, Lawrence Rael, Fred Forster, Bonnie Jeannette, Dick Katz,
Hank and Meryl Schrimmer, Loretta Modelevsky, Bill Klein, Leo Pinsky, Barbara Klein (Victor*), Steven Fainbarg (for Allan),
Roberta Feuerstein (for Arnold), Chela Taleisnik, Gary Kramer.
*of blessed memory
A Message from
Ellen Weiss
Director of Community Engagement & Philanthropy
As we celebrate our 25 years of
serving seniors, we stand tall with
pride for the thousands of elders
who have lived with us at Heritage
Pointe in an atmosphere of caring
based on our shared Jewish values.
Ellen Weiss
When you walk through our
doors for the first time, or anytime,
a marvelous world awaits. From the
warmth of the staff, the friendliness
of the residents, the serenity of the
synagogue, the swirl of activity, you
are instantly enthralled with the
vibrancy of our Home.
With your devotion as loyal
supporters and through careful
stewardship, we are able to
provide financial assistance to
seniors in need who live with us
at Heritage Pointe. We count on
your generosity every day. You help
us live our mission to honor our
community of mothers and fathers
as Jewish tradition teaches us.
During our 25th Anniversary
Celebrations, we will offer
opportunities for you to join with
us, as donors, as volunteers, as
family and as friends.
Mark Your Calendar for these upcoming events
“Sun Daze” on Sunday
Duffy Boat Scavenger Hunt
Sunday, July 12, 2015
2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Heritage Pointe
Anniversary Celebration
Sundaes on Sunday
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Heritage Pointe Campus
Venues and dates
to be determined
4
Wine Event
Venue and date
to be determined
Novelists Were Speakers at Heritage Pointe
Now Morris and Rita Ossias are Residents
First Came to Heritage Pointe to
Give a Book Review
After retiring, the Ossiases began
“snow birding” to Laguna Woods
and eventually settled there full
time. Morris and Rita first came to
Heritage Pointe when Volunteer
Coordinator Loretta Modelevsky
invited them to give a book review
of their novel to the residents in
2012. They liked what they saw, so
when it came time for them to move
to a place where they could have
more help, their first choice was
Heritage Pointe.
Rita and Morris Ossias
If you’ve ever thought “I’m too
old to start something new,” come
on over to Heritage Pointe and talk
to residents Morris and Rita Ossias.
They published their first novel in
2012 at ages 92 and 88 respectively.
“Who Was Victor?” is a story of
“tryst, travail and torment” about
their cousin Victor. It is set during
World War I through World
War II and beyond, following his
story from Europe to Israel. They
researched the book for five years,
including a trip to Israel to interview
Victor’s widow.
If that weren’t enough, Morris
recently published a second book of
seven short stories, many of them
drawing on events from his own
exciting life experiences, including
the time he spent serving in the
Weather Service of the Army Air
Corps as a weather observer during
World War II. For six months he
lived among Athabsakan Indians
in a town of 100 along the Yukon
River, west of Fairbanks.
Originally from New York,
Morris and Rita met after the War
and were married in 1946. Morris
attended optometry school on the
GI Bill. Eventually they settled in
Newburgh, NY, where they raised
five children. Rita kept busy raising
the kids and was active in many
Jewish and civic organizations.
Morris, who had been singing since
childhood, entertained, sang and
acted in community theater and
summer stock. He ran the New
York City marathon at age 59.
5
Morris still sings and spends time
practicing with his accompanist,
and performs often for the residents.
Rita keeps quite active as well.
She is the editor of the “Resident’s
Voice,” the quarterly newsletter
written by the residents for residents
of Heritage Pointe. The focus is to
highlight interesting stories about
people’s lives. Rita takes great pride
in making sure the newsletter is
positive, uplifting and cheerful.
So you can see that keeping busy
and starting new challenges are
par for the course for Morris and
Rita Ossias. Going on 68 years
of marriage, Morris still says he
couldn’t have accomplished any of
it without the encouragement and
assistance of his life partner and
love, Rita.
By staff writer Linda Stern
Profile of a Board Member
Rod Stern, V.P. Governance, Keeps Bylaws Modern
strong enough and comfortable to
personally question the activities
of the Board. Currently we have
15 members, but ideally we hope
to reach 20. One item we are
considering is ‘Should the Board
have term limits?’”
Rod’s Stepfather Was a Resident
Rod Stern
Assuring the Heritage Pointe
bylaws stay compliant legally with
health care and residential laws
is the responsibility of Rod Stern,
Vice President of Governance on
the Board of Directors, and his
committee. They are currently
reviewing the bylaws to keep them
modern by proposing updates,
refreshing these rules set five
years ago and recruiting new
board members.
“We lost some incredible people
this past year and hope to attract
and train some new members to our
Board,” he related. “Ideally we seek
those with a law background, with a
knowledge of seniors who can relate
to this stage of life, cooperative
and non-confrontational, and
Save the Date!
When this very pleasant Board
member was approached five years
ago to serve on the governance
committee, he was already “very
aware” and deeply involved with
Heritage Pointe. His stepfather was
a resident, very happy to be a part
of a community instead of living
alone. “For me, it was a no-brainer
to get involved,” he stated. For fourand-a-half years he served on other
committees, including governance,
then six months ago he was voted to
his position as a vice president.
Rod is a partner in the law firm of
Murtaugh Meyer Nelson & Treglia.
He has served as a reviewer and
consultant to Matthew Bender,
California Legal Forms, dealing with
areas of business and transactional
practice. In addition to business law
affiliations, he is a member of the
Orange County Bar Association Tax
Section, and of the Orange Coast
Planning Council.
Personal Practice Includes
Taxes, Estates
His personal practice emphasizes
the following areas: business and
tax planning advice for closely-held
businesses and individuals; estate
planning; trust administration;
probate and conservatorship matters;
tax litigation and dispute resolution.
Among the courts he is permitted
to practice before are the U.S.
Supreme Court, the U.S. Tax Court,
the U.S. Claims Court, the U.S.
Court of Appeals and all courts in
the State of California.
His publications include author
of Estate Planning, Wills and
Trusts for Business Owners and
Entrepreneurs, and co-author of
Tax Planning for Business.
Rod lives in Corona del Mar
with Bonita, his wife of more than
34 years. Their daughter Sarah
is attending her final year of law
school at Pepperdine and daughter
Samantha works with Christie’s
Auction House in New York.
By staff writer Judy Florman
Featuring
Annie Korzen
“Tales From The Mouth”
25th Annual Luncheon
& Boutique
Annie is a previous Seinfeld cast member
(you’ll laugh yourself silly!)
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Hotel Irvine
Jacquee Lipson and Donna Markovitz
Luncheon & Boutique Co-Chairs
6
A Message from
Leo Pinsky
Jewish Home for the
Aging of Orange County
current Diamond Donors now
contribute over $100,000 annually
to this very important endeavor.
Board of Directors
Diamond Donor Chairman
Leo Pinsky
The Diamond Donors of Heritage
Pointe held their first Donor
Appreciation Dinner in 1993 with
32 charter members in attendance.
Diamond Donors started out with
two goals in mind. The first was
to reach 100 members as soon as
possible. The second was to help
subsidize and support the Resident
Assistance Fund (now the Heritage
Fund), which allows those who
could not otherwise afford to
live at Heritage Pointe to do so
with the peace, comfort, care and
security which is afforded to all of
the residents. The more than 100
This past July, we had a fun
summer BBQ in the courtyard
at Heritage Pointe. The delicious
food was prepared by Heritage
Pointe’s Chef Rob Sands, and we
had wonderful entertainment and
dancing. Our annual Appreciation
Dinner will be held on Sunday,
March 1, 2015 at Newport Beach
Marriott Resort & Spa. It’s a
wonderful venue with terrific food.
Please join us for a lovely evening.
Diamond Donors make a
donation of $1,000 or more
annually. Collectively, since its
inception, we have contributed over
$2,000,000 to Heritage Pointe and
each one of us is very proud of that
accomplishment. If you would like
to join this very prestigious group of
supporters, please call Leo Pinsky,
Chairman of Diamond Donors, at
949.718.9890 or the Development
Office at 949.364.0010.
Heritage Pointe
Board of Directors
Jodi Greenbaum
Chairman
Cindy Mirsky
Immediate Past Chair/Parlimentarian
Rod Stern
VP, Governance
David Susson
VP, Finance & Treasurer
Beth Slavin
VP, Development
Bonnie Jeannette
VP, Building & Facilities
David Zarnow
VP, Spiritual Life
Jane Fischel
Secretary
Steven Fainbarg
Roberta Feuerstein
Lauren Klein
Jon Kline
Toni McDonald
Allison Pinsky
Wayne Schwartzman
Charlene Zuckerman
Advisory Board
Irving X. Burg
Denny Denkensohn
Allan Fainbarg
Arnold Feuerstein
Fred Forster
Dr. Richard Katz
William Klein
Gary Kramer
Mel Lipson
Leo Pinsky
Henry Schrimmer
Meryl Schrimmer
Ralph Stern
Chela Taleisnik
Ira Victer
7
A Message from
Mary Julienne
Administrator
Menorah with some of the children
who entertained our residents with
their boundless energy.
Mary Julienne
Another year is winding down
and December was a month of
special programs that involved
various community members
coming in to drop off gifts for the
residents including the Mission
Viejo Chapter and Smilemakers –
Council on Aging.
Klezmer entertainment and the
Two Grandmas from Brooklyn
helped make the eight days of
celebration bright and fun and
Cantor had the special Hanukkah
Oneg with jelly donuts. We enjoyed
homemade latkes that Myra and
friends made in the dining room—
hot and delicious!
All of the wonderful life enriching
events at Heritage Pointe are due
to community involvement and
support. The Gala was fantastic and
honored our Co-Founders Meryl
Schrimmer and Loretta Modelevsky
and our past Chairmen and
Advisory Board. Each one of you
make our seniors safe and happy
in an environment that honors and
supports our mission and vision.
Hanukkah was celebrated
beautifully with Cantor Sue lighting
the Menorah each night in our
lobby and in the dining room with
our residents. Temple Beth El was
here for the first night to light the
Jeremiah Society celebrated Hanukkah in the Synagogue at Heritage Pointe.
Volunteers have fun making latkes in the Dining Room.
Left to right: Barbara Gershenson, Roz Robbins, Marcia Ferer,
Carole Sweet, Sandie Hempling, Myra Rubin, Valerie Moncrief
8
Liz Currie
Welcomes Prospective Residents
from first visit to Heritage Pointe
and the move-in to be about six
months. During that time she keeps
in contact with those planning to
make the move, sending news of
what’s going on and assuring them
how happy they’re going to be after
they arrive.
Liz Currie
If you are interested in residing at
Heritage Pointe, your first contact
will be Liz Currie. She is the warm,
smiling person on the end of the
phone, who will describe what
life is like at Heritage Pointe and
happily set up an appointment
for you and your family to visit.
Often the Resident Welcoming
Committee will gladly assist Liz and
invite prospective residents to join
them at a table during lunch and to
accompany them to an activity.
Out-of-staters, whose adult
children live in Orange County,
frequently contact Liz about
“trying out” Heritage Pointe during
a visit to the area. She can make
available a three-day guest stay in
a furnished apartment, where they
can stay in order to experience the
daily flavor of life here, joining in
activities, bus trips and meeting
many of the residents.
Decision Takes Thought
and Time, Liz Helps
Most of the time moving in
doesn’t happen very quickly. Lifechanging decisions take thought and
time, as does the sale of a home and
possessions accumulated over many
years. Liz estimates the average time
Liz also works with Lisa Doud,
Director of External Marketing,
for ads that are placed in Orange
County and Long Beach Jewish
publications and in newsletters of
senior communities. However, word
of mouth from friends, family and
residents often prompts many calls
and visits.
From Glasgow, Scotland
Born and brought up in Glasgow,
Scotland, Liz has been in the
United States for 32 years. Her
charming Scottish accent is subtle,
but detectable after a few minutes
of talking. She started working at
Heritage Pointe as a receptionist,
and after two years joined the
Marketing Department where she
has been for 15 years.
“I really enjoy my job,” Liz said.
“Welcoming prospective residents
and showing them what life is like
at Heritage Pointe is a joy for me.
Once they move in, I get to see
them every day and keep a close
relationship with their families.
Their expectations are high, and we
do everything to fulfill them.”
Warmth, ability and sincerity—
Liz Currie brings it all to her job
as Director of Marketing for
Heritage Pointe.
By staff writer Debby Polonsky
Heritage Pointe’s
Management Staff
Mary Julienne
Administrator
Ellen Weiss
Director of Community
Engagement & Philanthropy
Pamela Davis
Director of Events & Special Projects
Liz Currie
Director of Internal Marketing
Lisa Doud
Director of External Marketing
Myra Rubin
Director of Activities
Cantor Susan Deutsch
Laura Kramer
Front Desk Supervisor
Sherry Bates
Director of Human Resources
France Wilson
Director of Healthcare Services
Paul Rockwood,
Director of Building Services
Patti Gardner
Memory Care Manager
Rob Sands
Chef Manager
Valerie Moncrief
Dining Room Manager
Loretta Modelevsky
Volunteer Coordinator
Pointe of View Staff
Pointe of View is published
quarterly by the Heritage Pointe
Development Department,
Pamela Davis, and the following
volunteers:
Martin Brower
Managing Editor
Judy Florman
Laura McDermott
Debby Polonsky
Meryl Schrimmer
Valerie Sloane
9
Madeline McDermott Bonds with Thelma Edell
Volunteen Holds Bat Mitzvah at Heritage Pointe
Madeline was working
diligently on perfecting her
Hebrew for her upcoming
Bat Mitzvah. She wanted
to add the component of
a Mitzvah project to her
studies. Her family has
always enjoyed volunteer
work at Heritage Pointe, so it
was no surprise that Maddie,
too, decided she wanted to
be a Volunteen here.
Loretta Modelevsky,
Volunteer Coordinator at
Heritage Pointe works diligently to
help connect residents to local teens.
She met with Maddie and carefully
selected a resident that would be a
good fit. Maddie has a great sense
of humor, is outgoing and smart.
For the same reason, Maddie was
matched with Thelma Edell and
a lasting friendship started. From
the beginning, both Thelma and
Maddie enjoyed the weekly visits.
During their time together, the two
would chat about various topics and
play games such as Gin Rummy
(which Maddie learned to play from
Thelma), Scrabble and other fun,
competitive games.
Volunteens, Grandfriends Learn
from Each Other
Thelma herself is a great
grandmother and loves children.
That is part of why she enjoys the
Great Grandfriend Mitzvah Project
so much. Over the years she has
had the pleasure of meeting several
Volunteens. In her mind, she and the
teens have something to teach each
other, and always something to learn
from one another. Regarding her
friendship with Maddie McDermott,
Thelma Edell and Madeline McDermott
this was definitely the case. Thelma
always enjoys having something to
look forward to each week.
Maddie shares that Thelma taught
her that small things matter. She
learned that giving of her time
to spend time with another was
rewarding and fun for both parties.
She learned through many of her
conversations with Thelma that
Thelma herself was also working on
her own Mitzvah project, Mitzvah
Corps. Her project helps residents
coming home form the hospital
that are not able to leave their room
because of physical constraints and
helps them by collecting their mail,
picking up groceries, or visiting
them, This taught Maddie the idea
that something small to one person
is a huge thing to another.
A Grand B’nai Mitzvah
at Heritage Pointe
Maddie and her cousin Ethan
celebrated their B’nai Mitzvah
together. Logistically, with her
cousin then living in Minnesota,
coordinating the ceremonies
for Friday evening and Saturday
10
morning required some
creative thinking. The
McDermott family
decided to inquire about
the two teens participating
in a Friday night service
at Heritage Pointe. The
idea was well-embraced
by Heritage Pointe and so
Maddie and Ethan began
learning the prayers for
the Friday night service
along with their B’nai
Mitzvah prayers.
The Friday night service,
conducted by Rabbi Mendelsohn,
was a meaningful evening for all
parties. Thelma, her friends and
many residents, along with the
families and friends of Maddie
and Ethan, filled the sanctuary at
Heritage Pointe. All agreed that
it was wonderful to see many
generations come together to enjoy
a Jewish tradition.
Thelma watched with pride as
Maddie conducted much of the
service in Hebrew in front of this new
congregation. The two exchanged
hugs and promised to keep in touch
over the coming months even after
the Bat Mitzvah, which has been
special for both of them.
Connecting teens with residents is a
meaningful experience for all parties
involved and a wonderful example
of how Heritage Pointe brings a
sense of community to its residents.
For more information on how you
too can adopt a Great Grandfriend
as part of your Mitzvah project,
please contact Loretta Modelevsky
or Carol Wolf at (949) 364-9684.
By staff writer Laura McDermott
Residents Cheer Staff Variety Show
Left to right: Ara Lalic, Michelle Alvarez, Princess Dungca
Maria Salgueiro
Tom and Becky Malo
Irwin “Junior” Martinez
Mercy Sengkey
Save the Date!
Heritage Pointe Chapter
Members Chai Tea
Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015
Heritage Pointe Dining Room
Entertainment
by Patrick Bell
Left to right: May Doby, Gloria Meldon, Marilou Brennan,
Rose Palma, Myrna Della Cruz
11
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
Permit No. 70
Address Service Requested
Jewish Home for the Aging of Orange County
27356 Bellogente • Mission Viejo, CA 92691
Tel: (949) 364-9685 • Fax: (949) 582-8957
www.heritagepointe.org • License #300607488
Residents Have Broad Choice of Programs
When it comes to education
and life enhancing opportunities,
Heritage Pointe shines in providing
a wide variety of programs guided
by the many and varied interests
of residents.
While the choices may vary, there
is something going on every day.
Some programs focus on current
events, others on computer skills.
Cantor Deutsch teaches classes on
comparative religion and Jewish
studies. She also leads a six-week
grief workshop with social worker
Roneet Cooper.
There is a mental fitness program
to challenge the mind, a women’s
discussion group, as well as a men’s
club and men’s hobby group.
You can find athletically-minded
residents working out in the
beautifully appointed gym under
the supervision of a trained physical
exercise director. Wii bowling is
another popular activity. Currently,
there is a book discussion group
and a thespian group that enjoys
reading plays. There is something
for everyone.
Every six-to-eight weeks, Activities
Director Myra Rubin asks for input
from the residents as to the kinds of
programs they would like. Volunteer
Coordinator Loretta Modelevsky
calls herself a “talent scout.” Recently,
six volunteers known as Page of
Stage entertained residents with the
reading of a Neil Simon play. Loretta
has brought many musicians and
lecturers to Heritage Pointe over the
years, and she continues to work
with Myra to find additional ways of
enriching the lives of Heritage
Pointe residents.
By staff writer Meryl Schrimmer