H EADLINES
Bennett Goldstein, Funeral Home President, Dies at 86
O B I TUA RY
JESSE BERNSTEIN | JE STAFF
BENNETT GOLDSTEIN, the
president and funeral direc-
tor of Goldsteins’ Rosenberg’s
Raphael-Sacks, died on Mar.

13. He was 86.

An “icon for the last 50
years,” in the words of his eldest
son, Bruce, Goldstein began
working at the funeral home
owned by his uncle and his
father back when he was still a
student at Central High School.

One day, while his father
and uncle were on an aft er-
noon errand, a family came into
the funeral home looking to
make arrangements for a loved
one. Goldstein, just 16, walked
them through the process on
his own, sealing the deal. He
would spend the rest of his life
Bennett Goldstein
Photo courtesy of Carl Goldstein
growing his family’s business.

“Being around people and
wanting to help people and
helping them make funeral
arrangements, he
never thought about doing anything
else,” said his younger son,
Carl. He spent the rest of his
life working 12 to 14 hours
a day at Goldsteins’ Rosenberg’s
Raphael-Sacks, rarely vacationing.

Outside of the funeral
home, Goldstein, a Korean
War veteran, extended his pas-
sion for service to the wider
Jewish community.

He was past chairman of
the board of the Leonard and
Madlyn Abramson Center for
Jewish Life and president of
the Jewish Funeral Directors
of America. He was a trustee
of Beth Sholom Congregation,
a member of the board of
the Talmudical Yeshiva of
Philadelphia, and a member of
the board of Overseers of Gratz
College. He was also a member
of the American Associates of
Ben Gurion University of the
Negev and American Friends
of Magen David Adom, among
many other organizations.

Both of his sons recall
their father’s ability to turn a
restaurant’s dining room into
something a little more special.

“When he would walk into
a restaurant, and we would all
be seated, it would take him an
additional fi ve to 10 minutes
to be seated,” Carl Goldstein
said. “Why? Because he starts
walking around the restaurant
to see who he knew, and who
he didn’t know.”
“He can work a room better
than any politician I know,”
Bruce Goldstein said.

And like anyone who could
work a room, Goldstein had
a talent for recall, his mind a
steel trap for names. One of his
friend’s mothers used to call
him “the computer.”
Goldstein was not a
“touchy-feely guy,” according
to Carl Goldstein, but he was
an attentive, loving father,
who was “idolized” by his
grandchildren. “He wasn’t the type of per-
son who was, you know, hug
you, kiss you, but if you had a
problem you went to him, you
solved the problem together,”
Bruce Goldstein said.

Bennett Goldstein’s wife,
Sonny Nathanson, died in
2005. Th ey had been married
since 1952.

Bennett Goldstein is sur-
vived by his children, Bruce
and Carl; his brother, Gabe;
his grandchildren, Jason,
Staci, Seth and Joshua; and his
great-grandchildren, Samuel,
Luke, Jordyn, Corey, Sophie
and Brooke. ●
jbernstein@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
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