DONALD JONAS

1929 - 2022

JONAS--Donald. Donald Jonas, founder, Jonas Philanthropies (Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare). Donald Lee Jonas, 92, founder, Jonas Philanthropies, Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare and a former retailing executive, passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 23, 2022. A lifetime resident and booster of New York City where he was born in 1929, Mr. Jonas was a major, innovative philanthropist and a noted art collector. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. Mr. Jonas married Barbara Jonas in 1953, and they raised two children, Kirby and John. The Jonases built substantial assets through business entrepreneurship and acquiring works of emerging and established artists, which they loaned to the Guggenheim and other high-profile museums. In 2005, guided by Donald's credo that "If you die rich you die poor," they raised $44 million at Christie's through the sale of 15 works by the likes of Willem de Kooning, Arshile Gorky, Mark Rothko and Franz Kline. The proceeds funded the formation of the Barbara and Donald Jonas Family Fund. Their strategy for giving, said Mr. Jonas, was to "find an uncrowded beach where we could be very deeply involved. We didn't want to just write a check." Their philanthropic centerpiece, Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare (JNVH) a division of Jonas Philanthropies, was founded by Donald and Barbara Jonas in New York City in 2006. Jonas Philanthropies now supports Nursing & Veterans Healthcare, Children's Environmental Health, Vision Health and Trees for Climate Health. Jonas Philanthropies (JNVH) has been heralded as a first-of-its-kind program dedicated to improving healthcare by advancing scholarship, leadership and innovation in the nursing profession. It has grown to be recognized as one of the nation's leading philanthropic initiatives for nursing. Stated Mr. Jonas, "We chose nursing because it is key to the whole health care system - but has had no real substantial backing." Nearly 1,400 future nurse educators and research and clinical leaders representing all 50 states have been supported by Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare programs, which are affiliated at 157 universities and other educational institutions. In 2012, Mr. Jonas championed healthcare for veterans, adding the Veterans Healthcare Program to addressing life-altering veterans' health issues by expanding the field of qualified nurses. A critical component of Mr. Jonas' expansion of Jonas Philanthropies programs was his ability to garner support from a growing number of individuals, businesses and foundations, among them the Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation, Hearst Foundations, May & Stanley Smith Charitable Trust, The Milbank Foundation, and The Ahmanson Foundation. As a prominent retail executive, Mr. Jonas was founder and Chairman of Barbara Lynn stores and its successor company, Belscot Retailers, both of which were listed on the American Stock Exchange from 1953-1975. He was co-founder and chairman of Lechters Housewares, a national retail chain from 1973 until he retired in 2001. Over the years, his many for-profit and nonprofit board memberships included the Dress Barn apparel chain, Kipp Academy Charter School, Guggenheim Museum Business Board, American Jewish Congress and Cancer Care, Inc. He was an honorary Trustee of Horace Mann School, which he attended. He founded the Read to Feed Program in New York City public and private schools for Heifer International. He donated generously to educational and medical programs in the Dominican Republic - where he was a resident for many years - and numerous other causes worldwide. These included support for victims of natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy. tornadoes in the Philippines, and healthcare and justice for immigrant children (Terra Firma). Known for his unflagging humor, joke-playing and dogged golf game, Mr. Jonas' prolific coterie of friends dated to his classmates at elementary school PS 6 in New York City. Mr. Jonas' beloved wife, Barbara, passed away in 2018. In addition to his two children, John and Kirby, he is survived by his sister, Susan; grandchildren, Lendri and Adam; great-grand- children, Bodie and Paxton; nephew, James and his wife, Jane; and great-grandniece, Elizabeth. Funeral services will be private. A ceremony celebrating the life of Donald Jonas will be held in about 3-4 weeks; date and location to be announced. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Donald Jonas may be directed to Jonas Philanthropies Inc. P.O. Box 705, New York, NY 10032 or online at: jonasphilanthropies.org.