Aileen Osofsky
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Aileen Shirley Osofsky née Bryant (September 6, 1926 – June 22, 2010) was an American
community leader Community leader is a designation, often by secondary sources (particularly in the media), for a person widely perceived to represent a community. A simple way to understand community leadership is to see it as leadership in, for and by the communi ...
,
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
and
bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
player. She served as the
chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
of the
American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. It is the largest such organization in North America having the stated mission "to promote, grow and sustain the ...
(ACBL) Goodwill Committee for more than 20 years from 1985.


Early life

Aileen Bryant was born in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, the third of four children. Her father, Harry Bryant, was an
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
and
builder Builder may refer to: Construction * Construction worker, who specializes in building work * Carpenter, a skilled craftsman who works with wood * General contractor, that specializes in building work ** Subcontractor * Real estate developer, who ...
whose
commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...
to construct military
barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...
took the family around the country. With each move, Aileen skipped a grade, graduating from high school at age 15. She met her future husband, Meyer Osofsky, while in Cunningham Junior High School. They married in 1945. Meyer served in the
U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
during World War II, and then founded "Aileen", a popular women's
sportswear Sportswear or activewear is athletic clothing, including footwear, worn for sports activity or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical spor ...
line named for his wife. In 1969, the couple built their dream home and settled in Shelter Island, choosing a plot overlooking Hay Beach. The
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
Norman Jaffe designed the house. It is considered one of his most accomplished and is featured in the 2001 book ''Weekend Utopia: Modern Living in the Hamptons'' and in the "Romantic Modernist: The Life and Work of Norman Jaffe, Architect" exhibit at the
Parrish Art Museum The Parrish Art Museum is an art museum designed by Herzog & de Meuron Architects and located in Water Mill, New York, whereto it moved in 2012 from Southampton Village. The museum focuses extensively on work by artists from the artist colony o ...
in 2005. Shortly after the Osofskys moved into their new home, Aileen began to participate in the community by offering the use of her home for a Shelter Island House Tour and her tennis court for local tennis tournaments. She was a steadfast supporter of the Friends of Music, the Perlman Music Program, the police and fire departments and the Red Cross ambulance corps. When Aileen won thousands of dollars as the major prize winner at the Fire Department's Chicken Barbecue, she donated it all back to the community. With her husband and daughter, Aileen donated the Manhanset Chapel (also known as Mechanic's Hall) to the Shelter Island Historical Society.


American Contract Bridge League

Osofsky was asked to chair the ACBL Goodwill Committee in 1985 even though she was not a member of the committee. She had made a name for herself with the Greater New York Bridge Association and is one of only three life members of that organization. Aileen quickly took to the job and expanded the organization's goodwill efforts by extolling the use of
bidding box A bidding box is a device used for bidding in bridge, usually in duplicate bridge competitions. Made in various configurations and sizes, it is typically a plastic box with two holding slots, each containing a set of bidding cards: one with 35 c ...
es to facilitate play for the hard of hearing, working to include youth players, and promoting "active ethics" to improve the quality of player conduct. Osofsky was inducted into the
ACBL Hall of Fame This list is a compilation of contract bridge players, writers, administrators and personalities who have been recognized for their skills, achievements or contributions to the game as identified by various specific sources. People recognized by ...
in 2009"Induction by Year"
. ''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-16.
as a recipient of the Blackwood Award for individual contributions to bridge without necessarily being a great player. At the induction ceremony, her son Alan noted, "Although she isn't the best player, she has done as much for the game as anyone." In her 25 years of service as Goodwill chair, Osofsky never stopped trying to convince ACBL members that friendly demeanor at the bridge table is good for everyone. A few days prior to her death, in a letter to the ACBL, Osofsky reflected on her long association with the organization:
When I got a call twenty-five years ago asking me to become the chair of the National Goodwill Committee, I had no idea how profound and positive an impact the organization and its members would have on my life.
As I transition now to a less involved role in the activities of the ACBL, I must acknowledge the paramount part that the organization has played in filling my life with joy, passion, and meaning — and I must thank you all from the bottom of my heart for giving me the opportunity to participate in the group’s work, and for doing that work with me.
In 2012 the ACBL named Osofsky and
Barbara Seagram Barbara Seagram (born 1949 in Barbados, West Indies) is a Canadian Registered Nurse and contract bridge writer, teacher, and administrator. She is co-author of thirty-eight published bridge books, including co-writing with Marc Smith '' 25 Bridge ...
as being joint holders of number 40 of the 52 most influential personalities in the organization's history for their work at promoting friendly behavior at the bridge table.


Other organizations

Osofsky split her time between New York and Phoenix. While in Phoenix, she served on the boards of many Jewish organizations, including the Women's Philanthropy Board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, Jewish Community Foundation and
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National Women's Committee. Osofsky founded Shelter Without Walls, a Jewish Family and Children's Service program that helps transform the lives of domestic violence victims in 1998, with the help of others in the community. The Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, Women's Philanthropy Division, gave Osofsky in 2006 the Gerda Weissmann Klein and Kurt Klein Award for contributing 10 or more years of service to both the Jewish and general communities. In 1991, Aileen and Meyer co-funded an
airplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...
transfer of Russian Jewish refugees to
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.


Death

Osofsky died of complications from
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
at
New York University Medical Center NYU Langone Health is an integrated academic health system located in New York City, New York, United States. The health system consists of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine, both part of New Y ...
on June 22, 2010, at the age of 83. She is survived by her husband, Meyer "Mike" Osofsky; son Alan and daughter-in-law Deirdre; son Larry and daughter-in-law Audrey; daughter Randy and son-in-law Steve Kessler; 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.


Legacy

During the ACBL Goodwill Committee reception at the Summer 2010
North American Bridge Championships North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual contract bridge, bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November fo ...
in
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, ACBL President Rich DeMartino announced that the committee was renamed the Aileen Osofsky ACBL Goodwill Committee in her honor. Shortly thereafter, during the Desert Empire Regional Tournament held in
Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...
, the players of Unit 354, the Phoenix, Arizona area, designated August 11, 2010, as Aileen Osofsky Goodwill Day. $275 in donations for the ACBL Foundation for the Preservation and Advancement of Bridge were raised in her honor. "Those donations represent a token of appreciation to recognize what Aileen did to support good ethics and manners, thereby enriching the game," said Unit 354 President Janet Newman.


References


External links

* – with video interview
Shelter Island Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osofsky, Aileen 1926 births 2010 deaths Jewish American community activists American community activists Activists from Brooklyn Contract bridge administrators Deaths from leukemia in New York (state) Philanthropists from Brooklyn People from Phoenix, Arizona People from Shelter Island, New York Activists from New York (state) 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American Jews