Jonathan and Stephanie Simon
We are proud products of Charlotte’s Jewish community. Our strong connection to Judaism can be traced to our families’ commitment to being Jewish and our experiences here in Charlotte. My grandfather, Maurice Weinstein, came to Charlotte in 1940 to set up his law practice. Throughout his lifetime, he was a national leader in Adult Jewish education. All of our grandparents passed their Jewish traditions and values to our parents who, in turn, passed them along to us. I grew up attending Temple Beth El while Stephanie’s family was active at Temple Israel. Our parents (Allan and Marcelle Oxman and Paul and Marcia Simon) took on community leadership roles at their temples, Federation, Hadassah, etc., as volunteers and contributors.
It was “love at first sight” the first time I saw Stephanie at her Bat Mitzvah. It took me many years to convince her that she felt the same way. We attended BBYO together and were friends throughout high school. Stephanie graduated from the University of North Carolina and received a graduate degree from UNC-Charlotte and I graduated from Guilford College. We began dating after college.
Growing up, Stephanie and I were influenced by a variety of Jewish experiences and Shalom Park institutions. Those experiences existed because of prior generations of thoughtful people with the foresight to create Shalom Park. We feel a responsibility to keep looking forward like the previous generations to help sustain and build upon the incredible community they established. It has become a valuable asset not only for Jewish Charlotte but for all of Charlotte.
The same Jewish organizations that impacted our lives are now having a positive influence on our three children. They have attended pre-schools on Sardis and JCC, the Charlotte Jewish Day School, Temple Israel and volunteered at JFS. Our Jewish values are important to us and play a significant role in our lives. We want our children to value education, perform mitzvot and understand the importance of tzedakkah. We want them to be “mensches”.
Stephanie and I are determined to be involved members of our Jewish community, contributing with both our time and financial resources, when able. Our legacy gifts are our way of following the examples set by our family. Our legacy commitments acknowledge and thank those who preceded us and reflect our responsibility to our children and others who will follow us.
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