Barbara Hochberg, chairwoman of of the Jewish Federation/Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, has died. She was 58.
A longtime leader in the Chicago Jewish community, Hochberg, who died of cancer, was the first woman to lead the Chicago Jewish federation in its 98- year history.
“We have lost a dear friend and a wonderful leader,” said Steven Nasatir, president of the federation.
“Barbara exemplified the meaning of leadership, demonstrating her devotion to the Jewish people through active involvement in her local community and by assuming major leadership roles as an advocate of the needs of the Jewish people around the world,” he said.
Born in Chicago, Hochberg graduated from Northwestern University and then taught at local elementary schools. After her husband, Larry, founded Sportmart in 1971, she joined him in the business, eventually serving as general merchandise manager for the sporting goods chain.
Larry Hochberg credited his wife with playing a key role in the expansion of Sportmart, especially in introducing fashion items into the company’s business. She was the first female board member of the National Sporting Goods Association.
In the Jewish community, Barbara Hochberg was active in a range of national and local organizations. She was active in Hillel — the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life since attending Northwestern, serving as chairman of the Hillels of Illinois Governing Commission and a member of the governing body of international Hillel.
In 1980 she served as campaign chairwoman of the Chicago federation’s women’s division and was the federation’s general campaign chairwoman in 1990.
On the national level, she was a member of the Council of Jewish Federations’ board of delegates and the CJF executive committee. She also served on the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s board of directors and co- chaired the JDC’s Israel-area committee.
Hochberg traveled to the former Soviet Union many times, including a trip in 1975 where she was shadowed by the KGB while smuggling in medicine and Jewish books to Jewish refuseniks.
She returned to Chicago with a list of Jews being harassed by the Soviet government and helped publicize their plight. Hochberg went on to sponsor a Russian family herself to help them emigrate from the country.
“She didn’t expect someone else to do the dirty work for her,” said Larry Hochberg. “She had chutzpah — the right kind of chutzpah. She knew what ought to be done, and then she did it. That’s one of the things that made her unique.”
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