At 92 years old, Rina Frankel still saw the best in humanity. Despite the tragedies of her youth, her optimism and belief in the “greater good” led her to live a life of impact and importance.

But when posed with the question, “What do you still want to accomplish,” her answer revealed that her unceasing zest for life still remained.

Having already touched countless lives through her role as a community leader, philanthropist, educator and advocate, Frankel’s answer was simple – “I still have so many young people that I need to influence and educate.”

Frankel, a Holocaust survivor and longtime leader in the Cleveland Jewish community, died on Oct. 17, leaving behind a legacy of resilience, service and dedication to Jewish life and education. She was 92.

“She still felt that she had more to do, especially in light of what’s going on right now in the world,” Sharon Kotlin, Frankel’s daughter, told the Cleveland Jewish News.

Born in Poland on June 26, 1934, Frankel fled Nazi-occupied Poland with her family, only to be sent to a labor camp in Siberia by Soviet authorities. After the war, she met her husband, Samuel, in Israel and the couple made Cleveland their home, where they raised their family of five and devoted their time to Holocaust education and advancing the Jewish community, both locally and nationally.

“She learned a new language and she mastered it,” Koltin said. “She raised five children and she went to school. She got her undergraduate degree because she always felt robbed that she wasn’t able to do that as a younger person.”

Frankel received an undergraduate degree from Ursuline College in Pepper Pike and a master’s degree from the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies. She and Samuel were both awarded honorary doctorate degrees from the College of Jewish Studies and were devoted to The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, establishing scholarship programs to help underprivileged students attend and a research lab to help cure diabetes.

“Education was always important to her,” Koltin said. “Even until recently, I would call her and she would say ‘I’m in the middle of a class’ or ‘I’m listening to a lecture, I’ll call you right back.’ She just had a love for learning.”

Together with Samuel, her husband of over 65 years, who himself was a Holocaust survivor who died in 2019, Rina Frankel was a founding member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

“They made a point to take us to the museum and to take us to the National Days of Remembrance,” Kotlin, who recently co-chaired the museum’s Chicago luncheon with her husband, said. “It wasn’t just something they did, they really wanted us to experience and be a part of that.”

For her efforts, Frankel was awarded the National Leadership Award at the museum’s 15th annual Cleveland luncheon earlier this year, on May 7, at Landerhaven in Mayfield Heights.

“I feel very fortunate to have known Rina, and her late husband, Sam, for many years,” Sara Bloomfield, director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. and a former Shaker Heights resident, told the CJN. “They were among the museum’s earliest supporters. Rina’s dedication to Holocaust education was inspiring and it was a privilege to honor her at our annual Cleveland luncheon this past May. She understood the importance of reaching new generations and was a uniquely powerful voice about why the lessons of the Holocaust were so critical for all Americans.”

Frankel also served as president of NA’AMAT and was on its national board, president of Cleveland Hebrew Schools and vice president of Park Synagogue and Kol Israel Foundation. She also chaired the Women’s Division of Israel Bonds and was on the boards of Cleveland College of Jewish Studies and Aaron Garber Library.

“She wanted to be involved as much as she could be,” Koltin told the CJN. “She really felt that she had something to offer and a unique perspective.”

That perspective earned her honors by Israel Bonds and recently by Hebrew University.

On Oct. 8, a little less than a week before her death, the CJN announced Frankel would be honored as a member of the 2026 class of Cleveland Jewish News 18 Difference Makers.

Described by her children as someone who always “found the good in people,” Frankel is survived by her children, Ann Abrams (Marc), Marilyn Oif (Kenneth), Steve Frankel (Dan Ricketts), Donald Frankel (Lori) and Sharon Koltin (Allan), as well as 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Services were held Oct. 19 at Park Synagogue in Pepper Pike.