It is with great sadness that we share that ImpactIsrael (formerly Friends of Yemin Orde) board member, Alan Cornell (Aharon ben Freidel and Itzhak), age 74, passed away peacefully on Thursday, April 16, in his home in Boca Raton, Florida. Alan credited his parents' legacy of surviving the Holocaust with shaping the way he lived his life: a positive attitude, commitment to family, Israel, and Jewish causes.
Alan served on ImpactIsrael's Board of Directors for three terms (2011-2019). During his tenure, he served as National Campaign Co-Chair and on the investment committee. He actively advocated for support of Israel's at-risk youth with his friends and associates in his South Florida community as well as throughout the New York tri-state area. He and his wife, Jane, visited Yemin Orde Youth Village many times on trips to Israel and graciously hosted Chaim Peri and other Yemin Orde staff and graduates in their home.
In Florida, Alan served in top leadership positions of the South Palm Beach County Jewish Federation (SPBC), as well as on the advisory board of Israel Bonds and as chair of AIPAC at St. Andrew’s Country Club. In New Jersey, where he lived before retiring to South Florida, Alan served on the board of his synagogue and was president of Jewish National Fund in Bergen County, N.J. Additionally, he provided assistance to organizations that supported Ethiopian Jewry and Israel advocacy groups such as Birthright Israel and AIPAC.
Alan and his wife, Jane, were honored by Israel Bonds, the Simon Weisenthal Center and Ruth and Norman Rales Jewish Family Services. The Cornell Family Gene Therapy Laboratory at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem is also dedicated in their honor. As children of Holocaust survivors, Alan and Jane are founders of Yad Vashem in Israel and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Alan and his family owned and managed Loew-Cornell, Inc., an arts and crafts import business started by his father and uncle in 1963, which was a leading supplier in the craft market. Alan joined the company in 1972 and later expanded the family involvement to his wife, son and daughter. Upon retirement, Alan sold the company to Jarden Corporation.
ImpactIsrael expresses deepest condolences to Alan’s wife, Jane, their daughter, Lauren (Jason) Lazar, their son, Michael (Kimberly), their grandchildren, Chloe and Zac Cornell, and Emma and Hudson Lazar and extended family. May his memory be a blessing.