Obituary: Lenore Pritzker

Lenore Pritzker, 87, passed away peacefully on Sept. 19. Lenore was best known as Ema to her six children and Bubbe to her 16 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. Lenore was born in Baltimore, Md., and married Allan Pritzker in 1953. During the 1950s, Allan spent time in the army while Lenore was raising the family. In 1961, Lenore and Allan moved to Orlando with five children and a station wagon. They started the second-oldest locksmith business in Orlando (Al-Len Lock Company), which remains a thriving family business today. Over the next 30 years, Lenore raised the family and was especially proud of the success of her children.

Family was everything to Lenore. She would cook for large family gatherings on a regular basis. In addition, she had expensive taste and would shop on her many trips as her form of personal enjoyment. If someone in the family needed something, Lenore would be happy to take a shopping trip near and far (sometimes they would drive to Atlanta from Orlando) to find the requested item.

When it comes to cooking, this was part of her DNA. Lenore would head the Oneg Shabbat cooking brigade for Congregation Ohev Shalom in Orlando for many years. This led to her being recognized as sisterhood “Woman of the Year.” Lenore was also involved with Israel Bonds and Hadassah in Orlando.

Lenore volunteered her home in the late 1960s/early 1970s to a number of Israeli soldiers stationed in Orlando. The hospitality provided led to a number of lifelong multi-generation friendships. Lenore and Allan would travel to Israel annually during the 1970s, which provided a firm Zionist blueprint for the family and future generations.

Lenore is survived by her husband Allan (Orlando), and her children Richard (Tobi) Pritzker (Orlando), Sharon (Dr. Dennis) Gross (Orlando), Eric (Sharon) Pritzker (Orlando), Leslie Pritzker (Marsha Shapiro) (Orlando), Dr. Jordan (Dr. Carole Agin) Pritzker (Roslyn, NY), and Raanan (Yael) Pritzker (Atlanta). A private graveside burial was held on Sept. 24. Donations can be made to Congregation B’nai Torah or the Epstein School.

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