In the Orthodox Jewish community of Atlanta in which Egon Petschek circulated, he was everybody's favorite unofficial grandfather.
That's despite the fact he tried hard not to call attention to himself. After all, he was a relative newcomer to this city, resettling here in 1978 after spending 40 years of his life in South America.
"Our children referred to him as Zayde [Yiddish for grandfather] Petschek," said Rabbi Menachem Deutsch of Atlanta, "and there are many other families who felt exactly the same."
Last March 27, the Torah Day School of Atlanta gave Mr. Petschek the official title of "Grandparent of the Year" at a gala Fox Theatre event in recognition of his generosity to the school and the personal attention he gave its pupils. It was an honor that Mr. Petschek, whom friends described as a very private person, had to be coaxed to accept.
Egon Petschek, 80, of Atlanta died Nov. 13 at Atlanta Hospice of heart failure. His graveside service was Tuesday at Crest Lawn Memorial Park. Dressler's Jewish Funeral Care was in charge of arrangements.
Born May 30, 1931, in what is now the Czech Republic, Mr. Petschek fled Prague as a boy with his parents and siblings in 1938, the year that Nazi Germany annexed their native country. The Petscheks stayed briefly in England, then emigrated to Argentina.
There, according to Rabbi Deutsch, Mr. Petschek "was brought up in an atmosphere where he was encouraged to deny his Judaism. No Hebrew school, no bar mitzvah, but somehow he sought out his religion."
Once in Atlanta, he plunged into an intensive postgraduate Torah study program called Atlanta Scholar Kollel, headed by Rabbi Deutsch. He began making annual visits to Israel. He became a benefactor of the Torah Day School and the Temima High School for Girls and a member of Congregation Beth Jacob, all three of which are located close to one another along LaVista Road.
Mr. Petschek had earned a comfortable living in Argentina handling the business side of his family's pharmaceutical company, enabling him in Atlanta to devote himself full time to his religious pursuits and his philanthropy.
"Egon became such a beloved figure that families contended with each other to have him as a guest for their Hanukkah and Purim celebrations," said Rabbi David Kapenstein, executive director of the Torah Day School.
"Egon had a special relationship with our young people," Rabbi Kapenstein added. "He never missed a wedding or a bar mitzvah or a bat mitzvah in our community."
Returning from his frequent trips to Israel, Mr. Petschek always brought back a suitcase or two full of presents for children such as books, T-shirts and Judaica giftware. He also sponsored annual Hanukkah parties for rabbis and their spouses and children, taking them to a bowling alley or a skating rink, then off to a pizza parlor afterward.
Concerned about the future of Judaism, he encouraged children to study Hebrew and brushed up regularly on his own command of the language, Rabbi Kapenstein said.
Mr. Petschek was a totally selfless person, focused at all times on the needs of others, said Julie Silverman of Atlanta, a longtime friend. Even recently as his health declined, she said, what was on his mind in his conversations with her was finding a way to move the students of the Temima girls school, currently in classroom trailers, into permanent quarters.
Between 1994 and 2004, Benjamin Cohen of Atlanta edited a newsletter called the Torah From Dixie, a weekly publication of commentary about Torah teachings ranging from topics of spirituality to challenges of daily life. Mr. Cohen said it would never have gotten off the ground without Mr. Petschek's financial assistance, plus his hands-on help.
"Each week, Egon would join me in stuffing envelopes with newsletters and applying address labels he had had printed," he said. "He was the most unselfish person I've ever met, always looking for new causes to support."
Survivors include two brothers, Herbert Petschek of Ashland, Ore., and Rudi Petschek of Nevada City, Calif.; two stepchildren, Eran and Sharon Yuvan in Israel; and two grandchildren.
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