From Modest Giving to Monumental Impact

After decades of quiet, steady support, Mel Levine's final gift to CJP created a powerful - and lasting - legacy.

By Judith Forman

Mel Levine (z"l) was passionate about the simpler things in life - baseball, fishing, classical music, and good conversation.

A co-owner with his brother, Alan, of The Barcolene Co., a chemical and cleanser manufacturer in Holbrook, Mel also cared deeply about the Jewish community.

Over the years, he was a modest donor to many Jewish nonprofits, including CJP, which he began supporting in the mid-1940s. So, when Mel died in January 2023 at the age of 94, it was no surprise that he left money in his will to several local and national Jewish organizations.

What was surprising was that his gift to CJP totaled $3.2 million - making it the largest unrestricted bequest in CJP's history.

"Mel was a very private, laidback man," says his longtime companion, Beverly Gurney, 87. "I think he figured this gift would be distributed to many different Jewish organizations that he cared about. He wanted to support them - and he thought that doing it through CJP was the best way."

"He trusted CJP"

Born in 1928 to the late Benjamin and Rose Levine, Mel was raised in a religious home in Roxbury. Later in life, he was a dedicated member of Beth Israel Synagogue, an Orthodox shul in Quincy, and regularly left his home in Duxbury before dawn to attend Beth Israel's early morning minyan. Mel was also an avid reader, especially of historical books about Israel and the Holocaust.

In the late 1980s, he turned to Quincy-based Attorney Jim Castleman for help with his estate planning. The two had known each for years from Beth Israel, and as a teenager, Jim, spent the summer of 1968 working on the assembly line at Aerosol Research Laboratories, a second company in Holbrook that Mel owned with his brother.

Working with Jim, Mel created a will that specified certain amounts of money he wanted to leave to several Jewish and secular organizations, including Hebrew SeniorLife, the Maimonides School, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Mel then designated the remainder of his estate to CJP.

"He trusted CJP to handle the distribution of his charitable funds throughout the Jewish community," says Jim. "Mel was humble. He was more concerned about the money being put to good use than being recognized."

Although the gift to CJP ended up being larger than he thinks Mel anticipated, Jim says that Mel would "be thrilled to know he's leaving this kind of legacy."

A gift that lives on

As an unrestricted bequest, the gift is added to CJP's Unrestricted Endowment, which makes annual distributions to support CJP's grants and operations throughout the community, says Shira Kraft, CJP's Associate Vice President, Gift Planning and Endowment.

"We often don't know what a donor can give and how they care about CJP until they are gone," says Shira. "All of our work, across the organization and in the community, and over so many years, is what contributes to these amazing testamentary gifts. Mel's incredible bequest speaks to the transformational power of legacy giving. We are grateful for his foresight and generosity."

More than three years after his passing, Beverly remembers Mel as a personable but quiet man who led a good, long life. He took pride in being a fair business owner, she says, and to the end of his days, remained dedicated to the Jewish community.

"He was very devoted to his religion," Beverly says. "Mel would be very proud of this gift."