Jewell Shelton Goldsmith


From Goldsmith & Fulton

Jewell Shelton Goldsmith & Lawrence B. Goldsmith, Jr. (from Catalogue)
 Author and Red Cross volunteer.

Born:Aug 7, 1923, Florence, Alabama
Died:Aug. 24, 2009, Huntsville, Alabama
Buried:Maple Hill Cemetery, Huntsville, Alabama
Wife of:Lawrence B. Goldsmith, Jr. (b1909)

Notes:

•  Married Lawrence B. Goldsmith, Jr. August 26, 1953 in Madison County, Alabama - MCRC

•  As we collect information about Madison County, we frequently find quotes and footnotes from the book she co-authored with Helen D. Fulton titled "Medicine Bags and Bumpy Roads: A Heritage of Healing in Madison County, Town and Country". It is an extremely well written book with a nice balance between human interest and well-researched facts. - Editor's Note

•  Biographical information in book she co-authored,published in 1985:
     "Originally from Florence, Alabama, Jewell Shelton Goldsmith has been associated with Huntsville Hospital as a Red Cross Volunteer for more than twenty-five years. She was in the first class of Gray Ladies who received training for volunteer service at the hospital in 1957. She is recipient of the coveted Clara Barton Award and the Distinguished Service Award presented by the Madison County Chapter of the Red Cross.
     The combination of her husband's family's involvement with and support of Huntsville Hospital dating back to the turn of the century, her personal admiration and respect for the accomplishments of the pioneer physicians who practiced medicine in Madison County, and her association with the hospital as a Red Cross Volunteer for more than a quarter of a century, provided the impetus for the thousands of hours of work she spent in compiling this historical volume." - Goldsmith & Fulton

•  Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice, The Huntsville Times, Wednesday, August 26, 2009
     "Mrs. Goldsmith was a member of the congregation of Temple B'Nai Sholom, where she taught religious school and was an active member of the Sisterhood. She was a volunteer with both the American Red Cross and Huntsville Hospital for over 50 years beginning in 1956 and had received numerous awards for her dedicated service from both organizations. Her awards include the Clara Barton Award in 1979 for her work with the Red Cross Blood Program; a plaque from the hospital in 1982 for her effort in documenting historical information on the hospital for their annual report; the Red Cross Sustained Service Award in 1991 for 35 years of continuous humanitarian service; her 40-year pin from the Red Cross in 1996, and in 1997 the Huntsville Hospital Foundation Society of 1895 recognized her continued contribution to health care at the hospital. In 2006 she was recognized by the Red Cross for 50 years of service, and in 2007 she was presented with the Judah P. Benjamin Award by the United Daughters of Confederacy, Virginia Clay Clopton Chapter #107 in recognition of her outstanding endeavors and achievements with the Red Cross and Huntsville Hospital. After 50 years of service she became known as 'Mrs.' Huntsville Hospital and was given a model replica of the 1926 Huntsville Hospital. Along with her good friend, Helen Fulton, she coauthored "Medicine Bags and Bumpy Roads," the definitive history of the hospital and early doctors prior to 1940. In 2008, the Volunteer Desk at Huntsville Hospital was named in her honor and in memory of her late grandmother-in-law, Betty Bernstein Goldsmith, whose efforts spearheaded the founding of Huntsville Hospital.
     Mrs. Goldsmith was preceded in death by her husband, Lawrence B. Goldsmith Jr. She is survived by her daughter, Margaret Anne Goldsmith of Huntsville; three grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; a sister, Bertha S. Thompson of Cambria, Ill.; and a brother, William Glenn Shelton of Florence.
     Visitation will be from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday at Laughlin Service Funeral Home. The funeral service will follow at 3 p.m. at the funeral home chapel with the Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar officiating. There will be a private family burial.
     Jewell would have wanted to especially thank Wiregrass Hospice of Huntsville who, along with her caregivers, gave her compassion and unparallel professionalism. Any time night or day they were available to provide Jewell and her family with kindness and support.
     Jewell would have said, 'Please don't send flowers. Instead please donate to, or volunteer for one of my favorite charities listed below': Wiregrass Hospice, 303 Williams Ave., #116, Huntsville, AL 35801; Temple B'Nai Sholom Goldsmith Fund, P.O. Box 2463, Huntsville, AL 35804; Huntsville Hospital Foundation, 101 Sivley Road, Huntsville, AL 35801; or American Red Cross, 1101 Washington St. S.W., Huntsville, AL 35801." - Find A Grave

•  She was not Jewish but "recognized the importance of family unity regarding religion" and was active in Temple life and religious education. - 5 Generations

•  Margaret Anne Goldsmith Hanaw says this of Jewell:      "Jewell's activities in the Huntsville Community have revolved around the Red Cross. She began work with the blood mobile in 1955 and some twelve years later received an award for her work as Chairman of the Blood Program at Huntsville Hospital. For her outstanding work as a volunteer she received the highest honor of the Red Crosa - The Clara Barton award. It is interesting to observe the parallel between Jewell's community involvement and that of Betty Bernstein Goldsmith three quarters of a century earlier." - 5 Generations


Related Links:

•  5 Generations - Article titled "5 Generations of Life: 'My Family and the Huntsville, Alabama Jewish community' 1852-1983" by Margaret Anne Goldsmith Hanaw for Huntsville Historical Review, Volume 12, #3 & #4, Jul-82, Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society. The entire volume is connected to this family.

•  Ancestry.com - Page owned by Jen White and can be viewed only with an Ancestry.com paid subscription (Originally found at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/2216997/person/24055017017.)

•  Catalogue - The Bernstein, Herstein, Schiffman and Goldsmith Collection: A Catalogue by Margaret Anne Goldsmith, 2014 draft.

•  Find A Grave - Page created by Heather

•  Goldsmith & Fulton - Medicine Bags and Bumpy Roads: A Heritage of Healing in Madison County, Town and Country, by Jewell S. Goldsmith and Helen D. Fulton, 1985, pages viii, ix

•  MCRC - Madison County Records Center

•  The Goldsmith Family Album


The Following Pages Link to this Page:
•  5 Generations
•  Catalogue
•  Lawrence B. Goldsmith, Jr. (b1909)
•  The Goldsmith Family Album