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Rock Hall’s first masquerade ball Page 10 VoL. 102 No. 48
NoVEMBER 27 - DECEMBER 3, 2025
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Lawrence Primary’s ‘Day of Thanks’ By MELISSA BERMAN mberman@liherald.com
Courtesy Kristen Panzararella
Members of the Lawrence Primary School PTA and student volunteers from Lawrence High School served up a Thanksgiving dinner for families on Nov. 19. The students, joined by parents as well, dished out a feast complete with all the traditional sides, drinks and desserts, which were donated by local businesses.
The students and families at Lawrence Primary School celebrated Thanksgiving early with their second annual “Day of Thanks” last week, organized by the Parent Teacher Association. The school served a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with sides, soft drinks, pies and donuts for any and all members of the community, with its gymnasium transformed into a dining hall decorated with balloons and festive decor while pop music played CoNTiNued oN PAge 9
Former HAFTR director Reuben Maron dies at 83 By MELISSA BERMAN mberman@liherald.com
Reuben Maron, former executive director of the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway and administrative director of Brandeis Hebrew Academy, died on Nov. 13, at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, in New Hyde Park, after battling an illness. He was 83. Maron met his wife of 58 years, Sandra Engelstein, on Dec. 30, 1963, on a date set up by a cousin. The couple dated for four years, and were married on July 2, 1967. They moved to Woodmere after their first son,
Evan, was born in 1970, and joined Young Israel of Woodmere. After serving in the Naval Air Forces during the Vietnam War, Maron worked for Templon Spinning Mills, in North Carolina, before founding Kingswood Sportswear and English Sportswear, in Lynbrook, in what used to be the Mangrove Feather factory and is now the Langdon, an apartment building. Maron transitioned into Jewish education after retiring from the fashion industry, and became HAFTR’s treasurer in 1982. He served as its board president from 1992 to 1995, and
became executive director in 2009. He retired in 2018, but remained on the school’s finance and past presidents committees. “He is a very special person,” Sandra Maron said. “He has given hundreds, if not thousands, of young Jewish minds the ability to receive a modern Orthodox education. He was the person who dealt with parents about tuition — such dignity and respect. I know firsthand. I was one of them.” While at HAFTR, Maron led an effort to increase the enrollment from under 1,000 to its current 1,400, including 270 children in the nursery pro-
gram. “Reuben Maron was an extraordinary parent, school leader, and executive director of HAFTR,” Naomi Lippman, the head of school at HAFTR High School, wrote in an email. “I very much valued the thoughtfulness, insight, and empathy that Mr. Maron brought to every issue. He was
a wise, compassionate school leader who was sensitive to the needs of our students and their families and appreciative of the dedication and professionalism of our faculty. His steadfast commitment to HAFTR’s growth and to the enhancement of every student’s academic and religious experience was CoNTiNued oN PAge 17