Like her husband Max, Adele Korff Gass had little say in her career choice. As the daughter of Jacob Korff, a Hasidic grand rabbi, she was reared to care for others and put the needs of the poor or sick ahead of her own desires. Adele’s life work outside her family was her enormous contribution to charitable causes. She was every bit as successful in her realm as her older brothers, Rabbi Samuel I. Korff and Rabbi Baruch Korff, were in theirs. The sampling of newspaper clippings below, showing her charity work, is just that, a sampling. They barely reflect the scope and depth of the charitable works that Adele engaged in throughout her adult life.

What makes Adele’s accomplishments even more remarkable was that Adele was a high school dropout. She was never given the educational opportunities granted her brothers and was even encouraged to leave high school a semester before graduation in order to marry Max. However, it should be noted that she recognized the value of educating women and she encouraged her own daughter to get a college diploma.

Reprinted courtesy of The Jewish Advocate		Reprinted courtesy of The Jewish Advocate

Caption: In 1967, Adele was named Jewish Memorial Hospital’s “Woman of the Year”

This appears to be the text of speech that describes Adele’s charitable works and devotion to helping those in need. Perhaps it was the speech given when she was named Woman of the Year by Jewish Memorial Hospital. In addition to Jewish Memorial Hospital, Adele at various times in her life devoted her energy to the Red Cross Ambulance Corps, Chelsea Hadassah (where she was vice-president), Children and Ladies’ Aid Society, Women’s Division of the Combined Jewish Appeal (co-chairman of the local chapter), and the High School Parent-Teachers Organization (vice-president). Adele was also a member of HIAS, Chelsea Hebrew School, North Shore Hebrew Academy, Jewish Women’s Convalescent Home, Multiple Sclerosis Aid Society, YWHA, Jewish Guild for the Blind, Hebrew Home of the Aged, Mizrachi Women’s Organization of America, and Temple Emmanuel Sisterhood.

     
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