In Praise of Jim Nagel
The Kiddish Committee is saddened by the loss of our faithful volunteer, Jim -familiarly called Jimmy- Nagel.
One Friday morning several years ago, Jim just showed up and continued to show up almost every week until we had to shut down kiddush because of COVID.
Jim was a whiz in the kitchen and would do anything asked of him, even run errands. As Karen Altman, one of the kiddush volunteers said : Jimmy was such a lovely person- so genuine and warm.
He never met a cantaloupe or pineapple he couldn’t wrangle onto a plate and fearsome watermelons didn’t scare him.
The mandolin might terrify others, but Jim handled that sharp blade with the same respectful expertise as he did a tennis racquet.
It was a pleasure to walk into the kitchen on a Friday morning and find Jim there waiting for instructions. He was eager to get back into the kitchen when we started preparing kiddush again.
Our condolences to his wife Karen and children Eli and Ian.
Friday mornings at 67 Park Street won’t be the same without Jim, his smile and his kindness.
Jim was a quiet, kind, generous man whose positive spirit inspired me as he took on each task with gusto. I will miss his presence as we hopefully will return to our community’s preparing and sharing kiddish together soon in the future בעזרת השם.
Jim was a quiet, kind, generous man whose positive spirit inspired me as he took on each task with gusto. I will miss his presence as we hopefully will return to our community’s preparing and sharing kiddish together soon in the future בעזרת השם.