Mr. Gerald Willner, was one of those rare individuals who touched the lives of so many people - both young and old. He was a simple man who devoted himself – both personally and professionally – with honesty, fairness, and loyalty, to those around him. He thrived on helping others.
Mr. Willner was a native New Yorker who graduated from the Rabbi Chaim Berlin Yeshiva, one of New York’s leading schools of advanced Talmudic studies. He earned a B.A. degree from Brooklyn College and attended the City College Graduate School of Business. Professionally, he rose from working as a credit manager for the Panasonic Company to being President of Panasonic’s East Coast Division; retiring in 1997 after 30+ years of dedicated service. He was a Kiddush Hashem in the business world. The Anti-Defamation League designated Mr. Willner an Honoree and recognized his contributions with its Torch of Liberty Award. He served as President of the Seaview Jewish Community Center in Brooklyn, New York.
His greatest accomplishment, however, was as a devoted family man, proud of his wife, Sandy, his three children and 13 grandchildren.
Whether as a player or watching from the sidelines, Gerald Willner loved sports; the Yeshivat Rambam family knows this first hand. At any of his grandsons’ sports games one would find Mr. Willner rooting, not just for his grandsons’ team, but for each player on their team. Each teammate was very special to him. Mr. Willner felt very close to them and they, in turn, felt connected to him, regarding his as “Zaide Jerry” and referring to him as their “#1 Fan”.
Yeshivat Rambam, along with Mrs. Sandy Willner, Mr. Sam and Mrs. Karen Pottash, and the entire Willner & Pottash family, are proud to honor his memory with the Willner Varsity Boys Basketball Tournament and Shabbaton. We miss him dearly.