Deanna Drucker achieved her last wish--to attend her granddaughter Maya's wedding before she died. Drucker born in Harvey, Illinois, died in her Highland Park home on Oct. 6, two days after the wedding; she was 81.
Her daughter, Alysa Parks, said her mother was happiest when "sharing those moments with her favorite people."
Drucker launched her community leadership involvement when she joined the board of her synagogue, the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, in the 1970s. Then, she expanded her community leadership role when she joined the JUF Board in 2004, where she served for almost a decade. She was also president of JUF's Women's Board for two years, then honorary director, and a Multigenerational Trustee of the Jewish Women's Foundation (JWF).
"Her proudest and most profound impact was as an active philanthropist and community leader," Parks said. "Her family, friends, and community were her three pillars, and her involvement with JUF and JWF were important parts of her life. She leaves a beautiful legacy, having lived a life of meaning through her values: tzedakah, resilience, laughter, and family."
In a 2014 essay Drucker wrote for eJewishphilanthropy, she called herself an "eternal optimist," saying: "I was motivated by the concept of tzedekah as a mitzvah. It was incumbent upon me to carry on the traditions; I was part of the legacy of the Jewish people, a link to the past and future."
A longtime trustee of the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, she earned her Certificate of Jewish Professional and Organizational Leadership at Spertus; her ongoing adult education included a course on "wise aging," leading her to write an ethical will that her family had bound as a book.
Described as a "lifelong learner," Drucker attended the University of Illinois in her 20s; then, she completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior Studies at National Louis University in her 40s.
A successful entrepreneur, Drucker started her own event planning business in 1999.
Drucker was married twice: to the late Ralph Gadiel for more than 30 years, and to the late Ed Drucker for over a decade. For her last dozen years, she found love and partnership with Harvey Gilden.
Drucker (nee Bolnick) was preceded in death by her parents, Rochelle and Leslie Bolnick, and her two late husbands, Ralph Gadiel and Edward Drucker. She is survived by her children Alysa (Randy) Parks, and Aaron (Judy) and Andrew (Jennifer) Gadiel and was "Bubby D" to her beloved grandchildren, Rebecca, Adam, Alex, Henry and Sami Gadiel, Maya (Brandon) Poticha and Zachary Parks. She was the sister of Howard (Irene), Skip (Marilyn), and Allen (Cindy) Bolnick, an aunt of many, and the partner of Harvey Gilden.
Arrangements were made by Chicago Jewish Funerals, with interment at Shalom Memorial Park. Memorials may be made to the Jewish Women's Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago or to JUF.
Paul Wieder, the former Associate Editor of Jewish Chicago, is a freelance writer and editor based in Chicago.
