Everyone knew that when Adele Gass was involved in a project it was going to be a success. If she needed a speaker or an entertainer for a charitable function at a char­itable price, she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“She was comfortable at being in charge. She decided how this funeral was to be arranged and worried that her family and friends might be inconvenienced.

“She had great love for many people and everyone could feel it. During the past two weeks, friends, family, and nurses described her as a great lady, an amazing lady, a person with a lot of heart, caring, a person who gave strength and was helpful dedicated, supportive, and loving.

“Everyone here knows that there is nothing that my mother wouldn’t do if she could help any of us in need. It was at Jewish Memorial Hospital that she met Rabbi Lieberman. She knew him more as a warm caring and sensitive human being than as a rabbi. She asked me to have him lead the prayers here so as to relieve the grieving rabbinical members of the family of this duty.

These photographs were not labeled but they were almost certainly tied to charitable events.  First: Adele is in the back row, second from right; second: Adele is in the back row, second from right; third: Adele is in the back row, second from left

“A recent interest of my mother’s was Keren Or, a school for the multi-handi­capped in Jerusalem. She was asked to speak at a fundraiser for this organiza­tion in New York City to express what she experienced while visiting their facility in Israel. When she came home she asked me if she was a good speaker. I asked why. She said that as she was speaking the noisy room got quiet, a lot of big wheels in the room seemed to be moved, and surprisingly, Keren Or received checks and pledges to complete their building project.

“I believe my mother spoke from the heart and when a person speaks from the heart the way she did, you had to listen. In her own way she could reach or connect with people at any level.

“During the past two weeks of my mother’s life, we talked about our lives—past, present, and future. I expressed my sorrow and told her I would miss her. She struggled to say that she loved me very much and was sorry she could not give me a hug. She expressed her love for Rosalie and listened to Rosalie’s music often, which helped to make her more peaceful.

“She was happy and grateful that her grandchildren were able to visit once more just before her time came. She was grateful for the many people who visited and called, including her close friends.

“My mother had no fear of death. Her disease was diagnosed 1½ years ago in my presence. She said when her time came she would be with some very beautiful people who had passed on before her. Her mind was very strong to the end; the passing was peaceful. However, it may be said today that the heavens are crying with her passing.

“Last week she asked me to speak to the family and express her thoughts:

 She had no regrets and believed that she accomplished a lot in her life­time.

 She loved us all dearly.

 A family should care for each other.

 We should try to be closer all the time.

 Be happy.

 Lead a good and full life.

 Forget the bull.”

Paul had wanted to include the following in his eulogy but wasn’t sure he had the trans­lation exactly right:

“My mother was told by her father that the Hebrew letters in her name-- aleph, dalet, lamed--stood for fire, knowledge, eternal, in accordance with words from the Torah.”

Adele’s brother, Baruch, later helped him with the translation.

The obituary which appeared in The Jewish Advocate[1] paid tribute to Adele’s fiery spir­it:

“Adele (Korff) Gass of Winthrop died Friday, November 26, at her residence of cancer after a long illness. She was 76 years old.

“She was a director, member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors since 1957, and major philanthropist of the Jewish Memorial Hospital and Rehabili­tation Center in Boston.

“Born in Russia, she came to this country at the age of nine. She was the daugh­ter of the late Grand Rabbi Jacob I. Korff, who was also the Zehiller Rebbe, and Chief Rabbi of Ukraine, Russia. She was a direct descendant of the Ba’al Shem Tov and named after his daughter.

“Growing up with her father, who boarded homeless travelers, she found it natural to volunteer most of her time to patients at the Jewish Memorial Hospital and Rehabilitation Center for over 55 Years. She became involved as the hospital shortly after her marriage at age 17 when she began visiting a neighbor who was hospitalized there.

“Moving to Chelsea, she spent the next 30 years volunteering six days a week at the hospital from early morning until late afternoon. She changed beds, helped patients into and out of bed, supplied bedpans, took blood pressure, cheered patients, brought in musicians and singers, distributed goodies, and helped nurses deliver patient care. She bought clothes for patients, had clothes made for them, and gave patients accessories such as barrettes and combs. She actively recruit­ed members for the hospital during the ‘40s, taking them to the Red Cross for free courses.

“About 20 years ago she had to reduce the pace to three days a week, then to two days, and finally once a week. She was president of the Chelsea Auxiliary of the hospital and until recently organized luncheons, fashion shows, and celebrity night galas for the benefit of the hospital. She was also active in the hospital’s capital needs campaign and founded and endowed an in-house beauty salon for patients at the hospital. She and her family endowed an entire floor of the hospital’s reha­bilitation wing.

“She once said, ‘As long as I can walk and am able, I’m not giving up. This hospi­tal has come a long way from a place where you came to die to a place of hope.’

“Besides her commitments to JMH Rehab, she was a life member of 35 other organizations. Among them were Hadassah, Brandeis University Women’s Committee, sisterhood of Temple Tifereth Israel of Winthrop, National Multiple Sclerosis, Winthrop Community Hospital, United Cerebral Palsy, Keren Or Center for the Multi-handicapped of Jerusalem, and many others.

“A world traveler, she ventured to China, Africa, Australia, Israel, and to the former Soviet Union. She sponsored a number of individuals and projects in this country, including the resettlement of Soviet Jews.”

  
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