Jack L. Marcus

Longtime businessman and community activist Jack L. Marcus of Glendale died Dec. 28 after a long battle with cancer. He was 61.

A man of many vocations, he was also devoted to his Judaism and love of music. He was able to combine his passions as a volunteer soloist at several Wisconsin synagogues during the high holidays. He later sang with Judy Wolkenstein and Ydelle Litwack using traditional and well as his original arrangements.

His love of music began as a child when he sang in the original Congregation Beth Israel Choir on Teutonia Ave. and continued in Glendale as an adult. He also gave concerts at the Jewish Home and Care Center and Chai Point.

In addition, he was a self-taught student of Yiddish and loved to play the piano and sing Yiddish songs. In his youth, he was a member of the Perheft Players, a Yiddish theater troupe that performed at the Jewish Community Center.

Born into a poor family in Milwaukee, Marcus began supporting his mother after his father died when he was 12, working at Jake’s Delicatessen. By the age of 18, he owned a used boot store next door to Jake’s where he bought used boots, fixed and resold them.

In order to attend what is now the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, his mother and brother helped at the store. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in business, he attended Marquette University Law School while working full-time at the store.

“He put his brother Melvin through medical school so he didn’t have time to attend classes. He studied at the store and took the finals,” his daughter Debra (Michael) Marcus-Watton said.

After receiving his degree, he was a partner with Jerome Tepper in a law firm whose advertising tactics were challenged by the State Board of Regulators. In 1982, the case went to the state Supreme Court, which found in the firm’s favor by a vote of 4-3.

They later dissolved the firm and Marcus expanded his shoe store into a department store at 5300 W. Fond du Lac Ave. The store is located on the first floor with a catalog merchandising business and an online uniform store on the second floor.

“He employed about 150 people and wanted to remain in that neighborhood so his people wouldn’t lose their jobs,” Marcus-Watton added.

His friend Martin F. Stein called him “a tzaddik and a mensch.” He added, “Jack was always concerned with the most needy, whether Jewish or not, and has done countless acts of kindness and generosity. He provided jobs to people who were otherwise unemployable and even trained them so they would succeed at their jobs.
He also was a man who dedicated a significant amount of his time and treasure to feeding the hungry and clothing those in need.”

His family added that when he got an idea for something, he mobilized to bring it to fruition. That was the case in the early 1990s when he founded the Jewish Community Funeral Home.

They said, “He wanted to assure that when people are in a state of grief, a most vulnerable position, that they be safe, never exploited and guided in Jewish ways of burial.

“His vision for Jewish funeral homes in Milwaukee was that they be owned by all Milwaukee synagogues with all profits benefiting the synagogues and other Jewish causes to encourage self-sufficiency. However, he had to settle for a cross section of the Jewish community to share ownership.”

He was a board member of Congregation Beth Israel and spent his life as a passionate supporter of the synagogue and Jewish causes. For his efforts, he was honored by Jewish National Fund.

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by his wife, Susan Marcus (nee Becker); other daughters Mindy Marcus and Jodi (Steve) Weber; brothers-in-law Mickey, Irving (Muriel) and Peter Becker; and five grandchildren.

Funeral services were held Dec. 30 with burial at Second Home Cemetery.
Memorials to Congregation Beth Israel, Mequon Jewish Preschool, American Cancer Society or the Hunger Task Force of Wisconsin would be appreciated by the family.