David Herbert Goldstein

David Herbert Goldstein, 78, of Kansas City, MO died Sunday December 20th, 2015 at his home. He was born January 17, 1937, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Blanche and Morris Goldstein. His parents owned Shorty’s Confectionery, a corner store, where he and his brother Elliott worked as boys. David graduated from James Ford Rhodes High School, and received a BA from Case Western Reserve University and a M.Ed. from Butler University. In 1960, he married Baila Brontman. They had three children, Micah, Noah, and Jared Goldstein, and were divorced in 1976. In 1979, David married Sonia Krevitt, who died in 1985.

David was a lifelong and passionate advocate for social justice. He participated in the March on Washington in 1963 and heard Dr. Martin Luther King give the “I Have a Dream Speech,” and the March on Selma in 1965. That year, as the founder and director of the first Head Start program in Indianapolis, one of the first Head Start programs in the country, he told his staff, “Together, we will change the world.”

David moved to Kansas City in 1972 to serve as director of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau of Greater Kansas City, where he fought bigotry and discrimination in all its forms. He worked to fight right-wing extremism in rural communities by showing Jewish support for farmers facing the financial crisis of the 1980s. He proudly wore his “Farms, Not Arms” t-shirt for years. He served on the Mayor’s Commission on Civil Rights, which drafted Kansas City’s first ordinance prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians. He worked to build coalitions between Jews and Muslims. David passionately believed that being Jewish means being committed to social justice and that no one is truly free until all are free, whether rich or poor, men or women, gay or straight, Jew or gentile.

David loved jazz, food, and clothes. He was a talented public speaker who had a big laugh and a wry sense of humor.

In 1998, David married Mary Ann Sherberg. They were devoted to each other, traveled together, and spent their retired years together. Mary took loving care of David during the last years of his life.

He is survived by his wife Mary, his sons Micah, Noah, and Jared, and four grandchildren, Dinah and Aram Miles of Laramie, Wyoming, and Samuel and Ruby Goldstein of Providence, Rhode Island.

Funeral services will be held at 2 pm Wednesday, December 23, 2015 at Congregation Beth Torah, 6100 W. 127th Street, Overland Park, KS 66209 with burial in the Congregation Beth Torah Section at Mt. Moriah Cemetery.