Henry B. "Hank" Goldberg was the life of the party — especially the parties he helped bring to dozens of nursing homes over the years so the elderly could celebrate the Jewish holidays.
Goldberg, 75, who died Wednesday, would travel across Central Florida at least once a week as part of the Jewish Pavilion charity to visit senior citizens of all religious backgrounds. He was best known, though, for his laughing and dancing in honor of the Jewish holidays.
Goldberg, a retired building inspector and father of five, wore colored beads and feathers for Purim, a Mardi Gras-like event to celebrate the biblical Queen Esther's saving the Jews of Persia from annihilation. He donned a Moses costume for Shavuot, which marks the time when the Torah was revealed on Mount Sinai.
"He showed tremendous kindness to seniors, but in a way that was very different than other volunteers," said Nancy Ludin, executive director of the Jewish Pavilion of Central Florida.
"If he saw a woman sitting in a wheelchair, he would walk up and ask her to dance — and she danced with him. Either she got up out of her chair and she danced like you wouldn't believe, or he would grab her hands and dance with her in the chair."
The Pavilion will honor Goldberg — often called the Pavilion's "Pied Piper" — with a gala next month in Lake Mary. He had been recognized for his community work several times in recent years.
Although Goldberg could be a lot of fun, he was serious about his work in the home-inspection business.
He once headed one of the Southeast's largest and oldest home-inspection companies and was a founding member of the American Society of Home Inspectors.
He started his company, Certified Building Inspectors, in 1976 and ran it until he retired about four years ago.
The Orlando Sentinel interviewed him often for articles on such matters as preparing homes for hurricanes and identifying problems in old houses. He even accompanied reporters once to Disney's Magic Kingdom for a story on the condition of the popular theme park.
Those who knew him said he learned his love of people and volunteerism from his mother, the late Bessie Mogel Goldberg.
Since moving with his wife, Jonie, to the Orlando area in 1964, he had done lots of volunteer work within the Jewish community.
He was past president and a member of the Chevra Kadisha, a sacred society that helps prepare bodies for burial in accordance with Jewish tradition. Goldberg was instrumental, friends said, in creating a special section at Glen Haven Memorial Park in Winter Park for Jewish people. He also briefly picked the winners of football games for ESPN.
"He was always giving of himself," said longtime friend Suzan Shader of Orlando. "He was just a good person all the way through."
In addition to his wife, Goldberg is survived by his sons, Stephen Goldberg of Winter Park and Jon Goldberg of Amherst, N.H.; daughters, Phyllis Goldberg of Maitland, Dorie Goldberg of Winter Park and Brenda Goldberg of Maitland; and seven grandchildren.
Miami only wins on the road and Cleveland isn't a better team. No WRs and Hillis is sick.Now I see-> Location:Ohio, LOL That aside, his picks have never been very good and as a sports-bettor he has to be broke
