Leonard I. Rifkin

LEONARD I. RIFKIN, 76, who shaped Omni-Source Corporation into one of the largest scrap metal recycling companies in North America, died Thursday afternoon, Feb. 28, 2008, in Palm Beach, Fla. A gentle and wise man, he was highly regarded and well respected by employees, business associates, and all those with whom he came in contact. Mr. Rifkin was born in New York City in 1931, and in 1941 moved with his family to Lima, Ohio, where his father, Irving, began working for a relative who bought and sold scrap metal, paper, rags, and animal hides. Within a short time, Irving began his own scrap collection business, and in 1943 moved the family to Fort Wayne, where Irving borrowed money from an uncle to purchase a small existing junk yard. As a youth, Leonard demonstrated outstanding talents as an artist, and was considered a musical prodigy, performing at the age of 14 as a violinist with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra. He later declined an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall. He was a long-time supporter of the Arts and the Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr. Rifkin was a graduate of North Side High School, and received a B.S. in Business Administration from Indiana University. He also attended the IU Law School for two years, before being called into the military. In 1956, after completing his military service, he returned to Fort Wayne to join his father's company, then known as Superior Iron and Metal, Inc. Over the next 25 years, Mr. Rifkin applied sophisticated management principles, techniques, and technology to a fragmented industry where such practices were previously unknown, thus transforming what had previously been a small, local scrap yard, into a more regional business centered in Northeast Indiana. His vision and acumen drove the expansion of Superior's operations throughout the Midwest and then, together with his sons and talented associates, grew the business that is now OmniSource, into one of the most highly regarded metal recycling companies in North America. All three of Mr. Rifkin's sons chose to return to Fort Wayne and to join the family business after completing their college education. Danny, the oldest, joined the company full-time in 1977, and Rick returned in 1980. Marty, after graduating from law school, joined the company in 1985. As a first generation American, Leonard witnessed how his immigrant parents truly believed in, and lived the American dream in their adopted land of freedom and opportunity. True to these ideals, and against this background, Rifkin, first with his parents, and subsequently with his sons, always remembered his roots, and worked to re-settle and provide jobs to immigrants from other countries. Today, OmniSource's 2,200 member work force, continues to offer employment opportunities to new Americans, including immigrants from Russia, Bosnia, Burma, Vietnam, Mexico and Central and South America. While family always played a major part in Mr. Rifkin's life, he was also active with many charitable organizations, including the B'nai Jacob Synagogue, Achduth Vesholom Temple, Israel Bond Drive, and the United Jewish Appeal. He was a founding director of Tower Bank, and also served as a "founding father and strategic partner" of Steel Dynamics, serving on its board of directors from 1993-2003. In 2003, Governor Joe Kenan conferred on him the prestigious Sagamore of the Wabash Award, Indiana's highest civic honor. In 2006, in honor of Mr. Rifkin's 75th birthday, his three sons created an endowment at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University to provide scholarships intended to create educational opportunities for students from Indiana who need financial assistance. Mr. Rifkin was scheduled to be inducted as a Laureate into the Greater Fort Wayne Business Hall of Fame in May. Mr. Rifkin is survived by his wife, Ari; sons, Danny, Rick (Soula) and Marty (Judy); seven grandchildren, Neal, Sarah, Mark, Illana, Alexandra, Joshua and Rachel, all of Fort Wayne; and a sister, Barbara (Les) Lipschutz of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was preceded in death by his parents, Irving and Mae Rifkin; and by his first wife, Norma Jean Rifkin, in 1983. Service is 10:30 a.m. Monday at Temple Achduth Vesholom, 5200 Old Mill Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46807, with calling beginning at 9:30 a.m. Burial will follow at Lindenwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, preferred memorials to the Fort Wayne Center for Learning, 3310 Mallard Cove Lane, Fort Wayne, IN 46804; Francine's Friends, c/o the Fort Wayne Medical Foundation, Suite 300, 700 Clay Street, Fort Wayne, IN 46802 or the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, 2340 Fairfield Avenue, Fort Wayne, IN 46807. Arrangements by D.O. McComb & Sons, Covington Knolls Funeral Home, 8325 Covington Road.