Jules Grossberg

Born on the lower east side of Manhattan on June 28, 1921, Jules Harold Grossberg grew up in a family without much money due to the Great Depression. He made the best of it through his love of reading and literature and became one of his graduating high school class speakers. As WW II began he enlisted in the army with the Signal Corps in1942 and then spent two years with the Amphibious Engineers in the South Pacific until discharge in 1945. He was awarded the Soldier's Medal for saving the life of a drowning soldier.

He met Florence Greenbaum at a college dance before joining the army, and during his time away wrote her 366 letters which she's kept all these years. They married in 1946 and celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last September in Madison. During their years in New York City they lived in the same apartment building for 40 years, raised two sons, and happily retired on the same day in 1986. Jules had worked as an insurance broker in the same firm for those 40 years. He and Florence were delighted to relocate to sunny Delray Beach Florida where they enjoyed 22 years. Due to increasing health problems, including Jules' loss of vision from glaucoma, they lived in Rockville, MD for several years close to their son David and his wife Karen, and then moved to Madison near their son Paul and his husband Dean, residing in Oakwood Village and recently at Artisan Assisted Living in Middleton.

Jules will always be remembered for his quiet, unassuming sophistication and intellect; his love of English, Shakespeare, U.S. history, and The Rachel Maddow Show; and his deep, heartfelt sense of justice and equality. Examples of his spontaneous wit are abundant including his own clever response during his years in the army to being asked where he was from: "I grew up on a small island off the coast of New Jersey-- called Manhattan!" In spring 2017, after two months of recurring pneumonia Jules passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving wife, children and grandchildren, at age 95.

Jules is survived by his wife, Florence Grossberg, Middleton, WI; two sons, Dr. Paul (Dean Ziemke) Grossberg, Madison, WI and Dr. David (Karen) Grossberg, Potomac, MD; sisters, Clara Elkoff, New York, NY and Hilde Month, Lancaster, PA; grandchildren, Sean Grossberg, Chicago, IL, Samuel Grossberg, Boulder, CO, Hannah Grossberg, Potomac, MD, and Jacob Ziemke, Madison, WI; and nephews and nieces.

Preceded in death by parents, Louis and Helen Grossberg; brothers-in-law Phillip Gold, Murray Kurtzman, Marvin Elkoff, and Alfred Month; and sister-in-law, Muriel Kurtzman.

The family had a graveside service in Delray Beach Florida. A Memorial Service celebrating Jules life will be held at 4:00 pm on Saturday, April 14, 2018 at Oakwood University Woods West, Oaks Community Room, 6225 Mineral Point Road, Madison, WI 53705. A gathering of family and friends will precede the service from 3:30 until 4:00 pm. Memorial contributions may be made to the Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired, the University of Wisconsin Foundation, Jewish Social Services of Madison, Wisconsin Public Radio, or the American Heart Association. Online condolences may be made at www.cressfuneralservice.com.



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