The late Sol Koenigsberg was recently honored at Village Shalom with the dedication of The Sol Koenigsberg Family Room on the third floor of the main campus assisted living community.
The dedication was in honor of a charitable gift he made in his family’s honor before his passing.
Koenigsberg was a World War II Navy veteran, social worker, author and active member of the Jewish professional communities of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Detroit, Michigan; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Greater Kansas City. He was also a fierce and persistent advocate for the Skywalk Memorial Plaza honoring the 114 victims and emergency and medical personnel who were involved in the July 17, 1981, skywalk collapse of the Hyatt Regency Hotel.
Koenigsberg held undergraduate degrees in psychology and music, a master’s degree in social work, and never ceased his love of gathering and sharing knowledge, according to his daughter, Beth Koenigsberg.
As a social worker, he served Holocaust survivors through Jewish Family Services in Detroit and United States veterans through the Veterans Administration Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware. He was the assistant director of the Jewish Federation of Milwaukee for six years, and then served as the Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City from 1968 to 1989. At his retirement in 1989, he was honored with emeritus status.
During his time as executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, Koenigsberg is credited with increasing gifts made to the Federation’s annual campaign year by year, promoting the Jewish Community Foundation and facilitating the building of the Jewish Community Campus. The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle named him “a living legend of the community,” and his daughter said he took his role as a mentor, friend, and trusted advisor to his successors at the Federation seriously.
He was married for 62 years to Rosette Koenigsberg, a French Jewish survivor of German occupation, whom he met in Detroit. He was father to Michael Koenigsberg, of blessed memory, and Beth.
After the passing of Rosette in 2014, Sol Koenigsberg lived at Village Shalom until his death on Dec. 24, 2020. During his time there, he shared his love of learning and music, serving as a frequent lecturer in the resident programming department and its annual Village Shalom University. He also taught a weekly resident program called “Staying Up to Date with Current News.”
Beth Koenigsberg said her father loved people and enjoyed visiting with residents throughout the campus. He occasionally drafted letters to the editors of The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle and The Kansas City Star that were then published.
Sol Koenigsberg valued Village Shalom as a leader in senior care throughout the Jewish and greater Kansas City community. When presented with an opportunity to support their major campus expansion — including the opening of a free-standing, three-story memory support community and renovation of Village Shalom’s short-term rehabilitation center with a new therapy gym — he made a personal investment.
Although not directly included in the campus expansion, Koenigsberg and his family chose to have their gift honored through the dedication of The Sol Koenigsberg Family Room on the third floor of the main campus Assisted Living community.
Beth Koenigsberg is now a villa resident of Village Shalom and was proud to be present for the dedication. She can often be seen around campus sharing stories about her father and the work he did throughout his life to others who knew and remember him.