Carrie Obendorfer Simon
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Carrie Simon (March 5, 1872 – March 3, 1961) was a Jewish-American communal leader from Washington, D.C.


Life

Simon was born on March 5, 1872, in Uniontown, Alabama, the daughter of Leo William Obendorfer and Mary Wise. A few years after her birth, she moved with her family to
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, where her father began a successful jewelry business and her mother founded a local chapter of the
National Council of Jewish Women The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Founded in 1893, the NCJW describes itself as the oldest Jewish women's grassroots organization organization in the USA and currently has over 225,000 members. ...
(NCJW) in 1895. Simon graduated from the
Cincinnati Conservatory of Music The Cincinnati Conservatory of Music was a conservatory, part of a girls' finishing school, founded in 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It merged with the College of Music of Cincinnati in 1955, forming the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, w ...
. She also served as section secretary of the NCJW chapter her mother founded, which made her aware of new possibilities that were opening for Jewish women in public life. Following her marriage to Rabbi Abram Simon, she went with her husband when he became a rabbi in
Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...
, in 1896,
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, in 1899, and
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, in 1904. She continued to work with the NCJW while living in Sacramento, but as the NCJW struggled to reconcile its diverse members' different religious approaches, she turned her attention towards local congregational work. This led her, in 1905, to establish the Ladies Auxiliary Society of Washington Hebrew Congregation in 1905. It later renamed itself a sisterhood that went from holding the occasional synagogue fundraiser to turning the synagogue into a true social center. Simon was a founder of the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods in 1913 and served as its first president for the next six years. Under her, the Federation issued the Annual Jewish Art Calendar, established scholarship and education funds for
Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...
in Cincinnati, and collected religious ceremonial objects for what would later be the College's Museum. She later became chairman of the Federation's committee on the Hebrew Union College dormitory, helping the campaign raise funds for a dormitory on the College's grounds that was dedicated in 1925. In 1943, she was named honorary president of the Federation. She was also chairman of the Conference Committee of National Jewish Women's Organizations and would appear in numerous pulpits all across the country to speak on behalf of Jewish women. Simon used her position to encourage the
Union of American Hebrew Congregations The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms establ ...
to include more women on synagogue boards and to welcome intermarried couples into synagogues and sisterhoods. In later years, she devoted herself to the Jewish Braille Institute of America, which was founded in 1931 and transcribed English, Yiddish, and Hebrew books into Braille with the help of sisterhood volunteers. In 1896, she married Abram Simon, who she met while he was a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College. They had two children, Leo and David. Simon died at the
Washington Hospital Center MedStar Washington Hospital Center is the largest private hospital in Washington, D.C. A member of MedStar Health, the not-for-profit Hospital Center is licensed for 926 beds. Health services in primary, secondary and tertiary care are offer ...
on March 3, 1961, several weeks after she fractured her hip. Her funeral service took place in the Washington Hebrew Congregation, and she was buried in the Congregation's cemetery.


References

1872 births 1961 deaths People from Uniontown, Alabama People from Cincinnati People from Sacramento, California People from Omaha, Nebraska People from Washington, D.C. American Reform Jews 19th-century American Jews 20th-century American Jews Jewish American community activists American community activists {{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Carrie Obendorfer