By COLlive reporter
Family, rabbinical colleagues and many from the Jewish communities in Canton and Akron, cities south of Cleveland, bid an emotional farewell to Rabbi Mendy Sasonkin, one of the dynamic Chabad Shluchim in Ohio.
The funeral took place at the Anshe Sfard – Revere Road Synagogue in Akron on Wednesday. Participants noted how the rabbi spearheaded a $6 million expansion and renovation to the campus of the historic synagogue which was founded in 1915.
Rabbi Sasonkin led the campaign just as he fell ill with cancer 5 years ago.
It is a testament to his stamina and the close connections he forged in the community that the project was all paid for by a community that numbers 3,000 Jewish households even before construction began, Chabad.org said.
Even as his body was ravaged by illness, he continued to remain positive and upbeat. He passed away at the age of 54 on Monday, Simchas Torah night.
Among the speakers at the funeral were his mother, Mrs. Sara Rivka Sasonkin, a long-time Shlucha in Moshav Avital in northern Israel; Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, Vice Chairman of Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch; family and community members.
He is survived by his wife Kaila and their children, Shmuli Sasonkin (Winter Park, FL), Chaim Sasonkin (Parkland, FL), Moshe Sasonkin (Kent, OH), Mussie Klein (Memphis, TN) Berele, Levi, Meir, Ari, Yossi, and Chana; grandchildren.
He is survived by his parents Rabbi Avrohom Yitzchok and Sarah Rivkah Sasonkin – Avital, Israel; his parents-in-law Rabbi Leibel and Devorah Alevsky – Cleveland, OH; and his siblings Rabbi Moshe Sasonkin, Chanie Kalmenson, Rabbi Berele Sasonkin, Itty Goldshmid, Rabbi Nochum Sasonkin, Rabbi Yechezkel Sasonkin, Malky Goldshmid and Rabbi Yehuda Sasonkin.
The family will be sitting Shiva in Akron until Sunday. They will be sitting Shiva in New York from Sunday afternoon through Tuesday morning, at 1374 Union Street in Crown Heights.
To donate to the Rabbi Mendy Sasonkin Legacy Fund, visit charidy.com/sasonkinlegacy
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