Cantor Isaac Goodfriend triumphed after facing a past that few survived.
Goodfriend was born in Poland, and interned at a Nazi labor camp in Piotrokow at age 16. He eventually escaped from the camp in 1944, and found refuge at the home of a Polish farmer. He was the only member of his family to survive the war.
“He was a great man,” said his son, Enoch Goodfriend. “He represented an era ... he was dad, and he was a loving, strong, faithful man who survived the Holocaust. That’s where he gleaned most of his faith from.”
After the war, Goodfriend moved to Canada with his wife, Betty, and began focusing on his musical talent. He soon found a way to incorporate his passion for music with his faith. In 1952 he became a cantor, the religious official of a synagogue who conducts the liturgy and sings prayers, at the Shaare Zion Congregation in Montreal. He later moved to Atlanta where he served as a cantor for Ahavath Achim Synagogue for 30 years.
Goodfriend, 85, died on Monday from natural causes. A service was held at Congregation Ariel later that afternoon and he was buried near his wife in Israel on Tuesday. He specifically made it a point to help the Jewish community in anyway possible, said his son, Perry Goodfriend.
“He worked tirelessly for Israel,” he said. “He was committed not only to this community, but the Jewish community as a whole. He saw what he went through at the Holocaust as sort of a impetus.”
Goodfriend was very connected with tradition and his heritage. His mission was to share and pass on the memories of the world he came from that were destroyed during the Holocaust, said Rabbi Binyomin Friedman of Congregation Ariel.
“He was on a mission to see that these memories weren’t lost,” Friedman said. “He was an inspiration to everyone ... we are happy we had him for the years we did.”
In 1977 Goodfriend was selected to sing the National Anthem at President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration, and he made it a point to represent the Jewish community every year at the national observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He wrote and sang a Hebrew verse of “We Shall Overcome” at the service each year.
“He did this as recently as January,” his son Perry said. “It was amazing ... he would stand up there and belt it out like it was 20 years ago.”
In 1979, President Carter appointed Goodfriend to the President’s Commission on the Holocaust, and in 1985 the governor of Georgia selected him to serve on the statewide Holocaust Memorial Commission. He was also a charter member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, which aided in creating the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C.
“It was essential in his mind to be involved with all of these organizations,” Enoch explained. “He wanted to educate people ... teaching and education was important to him.”
Despite his tragic past, Goodfriend worked tirelessly with various charities and made a positive impact in the Jewish community. But, above all, the people who knew him will never forget his kindness and warmth, Perry said.
“I think what he would be remembered for most is his generosity ... time, motivation, commitment, his great smile and the twinkle in his eye.”
Goodfriend is survived by his two sons Enoch and Perry, both of Atlanta, four grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
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