The H.F. Epstein Hebrew Academy will honor Dr. George and Darla Grossberg at its 69^th annual gala on  April 29. The honorary chair for the event is Gabe Grossberg. 

Dr. Grossberg is the Samuel W. Fordyce Professor and Director of Geriatric Psychiatry at St. Louis University School of Medicine. In 1979, Grossberg started the first Geriatric Psychiatry program in Missouri, and in 1985, the first Alzheimer’s Disease Community Brain Bank. He is past-president of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry and the International Psychogeriatric Association. He has written five books, edited eight textbooks, and contributed over 500 articles, chapters, and abstracts to the geriatric literature. Dr. Grossberg is a graduate of Epstein Hebrew Academy.

His wife, Darla Grossberg, has been involved in a variety of charitable organizations, including the Jewish Book Festival, Jewish Federation of St. Louis and Bikur Cholim. She has served on the board of Epstein Hebrew Academy, and has co-chaired many of the school’s fundraising dinners. 

The couple has also raised five Epstein alumni. 

In 2002 the Grossberg family established the Henry Grossberg fund, which later became the Henry and Barbara Grossberg Fund to memorialize Henry and Barbara Grossberg, cofounders of Delmar Gardens. This fund, used exclusively for educational purposes, has provided science equipment and texts for Epstein middle school students.

The school will also recognize Joan Heber with the Samuel Cherrick Community Service Award for outstanding community service. Haber has taken it upon herself to keep in touch with alumni and connect them with the school. Her late husband, Rabbi Shmuel Heber, was a beloved teacher at Epstein and is the namesake of one of the honors awarded at graduation. The Rabbi Shmuel Heber award is given to a student who practices their Judaism with joy.

The Alumni Recognition Award is being presented to Michael Shapiro. He has dedicated years of service to Epstein as a parent volunteer and most recently as Executive Vice President.  As a founder of Ohr Atid and a champion for children with special needs, Shapiro has worked to spread Torah to each and every child. He has also contributed as a regular Baal Koreh, Torah reader, and bar mitzvah tutor in the community at large. 

For more details on the school’s gala, contact the school office at 314-994-7856.