Sisterly Synergy

The Fink girls have found a niche helping people of all sizes.

JULIE EDGAR
Senior Writer

anet Antin breezed into her
big sister's house, primped her
shgtl and launched into an
anecdote that broke up the
room.
_
She repeated a tongue-in-cheek
question a resident of Menorah
House, where Antin works as the
quality of life director, had asked
Antin's husband that morning. Rabbi
Bernard Antin was at the nursing
home to present a Rosh Hashanah
program.
Antin and her sisters, Barbara
Hochheiser and Marcia Mittelman,
bent over laughing. Aside from their
obvious affection for one another, the
three share a sense of humor sharp-
ened by years of working side-by-side
with the oldest and the youngest of
the Jewish community.
Hochheiser, the oldest of the Fink

.

or wigs, joined Jewish HOrne for
Aged, now Jewish Home and Aging
Services, as an administrative assistant
at the former Borman Hall. She had
been in Cincinnati with her husband,
who served as a chaplain at a nursing
home there. She also volunteered
there.
"I felt I had to be some place where
I could make a difference," Antin
said.
Today, she not only serves as quali-
ty of life director at Menorah House
but also as its volunteer and commu-
nity coordinator. Antin joined the
staff two years ago.
That the three sisters, who live
within a mile of each other, ended up
working with people, mainly the
elderly, is not at all strange to them.
"You should have seen my sisters in
action when my father was ill,"
Hochheiser said.
"We all took shifts," Antin
explained.

Photo by Bill Hansen

j

sisters, is a teacher at Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah and coordinator of the
school's Chesed project, which links
up eighth-grade students with organi-
zations like Menorah House. Antin
does "sensitivity training" for
Hochheiser's students who visit nurs-
ing home residents. Hochheiser hopes
to make the school a constant and
reliable source of volunteers for the
home. Mittelman's experience in the
field of geriatrics is wide-ranging. She
served as administrator at Prentis
Manor for 10 years before joining
Jewish Family Service as director of
marketing and development. "Going
back home," as she puts it, she will
start a new position later this month
as the first executive director of Elan
Village; the new assisted living facility
in the Prentis building.
"It wasn't a surprise • to us. Marcia's
reputation at Prentis was impeccable,"
Hochheiser said proudly.
Antin, who sells and styles sheytls,

Sisters Janet Antin, Marcia Mittelman and Barbara Hochheiser: Teachers and givers.

10/3
1997

24

David Fink died of cancer almost
six years ago, at home. His family
tended to him constantly.
"We were raised not be afraid of
sickness," Antin said.
Example was also a factor, the sis-
ters believe, in their career choices.
Their mother, Helen, was a power-
house volunteer, lending her time to
any organization that needed her.
'As we were growing up, whatever
we were involved in, she was involved
in," Antin said.
Similarly, Hochheiser's son, Yossie,
often visited Menorah House when
was a student at Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah. Mittelman's daughter, Bella,
loved going to work with her mother
at Prentis. Hochheiser's daughter,
Deena, plans to get involved in the
Daniel Sobel Friendship Circle, which_
serves families with children who have
special needs.
"My issue is, unless you involve
yourself with other people, how do
you develop yourself?" Hochheiser
said.
But the three sisters point to their
beloved grandmother as a major influ-
ence. It was she who sensitized them
to the process of aging. The late Bessie
Diskin Nagel lived with the Fink fam-
ily for five or six years and shared a
close relationship with each of the five
children, including brothers Gary an
Michael.
"I had a really strong bond with
her, and that fostered my love for old
people," Mittelman said.
"We were taught great respect [for
older people,]" Antin offered.
It was at age 14 or 15, Mittelman
said, when she found her calling.
She and Antin, who are a year
apart in age, both belonged to
National Conference of Synagogue
Youth as teenagers and would ride
their bikes to area nursing homes
from school to visit residents. They
also "adopted" senior residents of
Butzel Center as campers and coun-
selors at Camp Tamarack.
"The little things you do have so
much meaning in their lives,"
Mittelman remarked.
"These people have rich, rich sto-
ries," Antin added. ❑

