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Article: LEONARD FLORENCE, 74, FOUNDER OF SYRATECH, LEADING PHILANTHROPIST
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- June 28, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2006 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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The son of poor Russian-Jewish immigrants, Leonard Florence shined
shoes at the Chelsea Soldiers Home to help his family in the first
entrepreneurial endeavor of his rags-to-riches life.
Years later, the Jewish chapel at the Soldiers Home would be named
for Mr. Florence's parents, and he would become a member of the
home's board of trustees. The home is one of dozens of institutions,
from his old neighborhood to across the globe, that benefited from
his philanthropy.
His charitable work also bridged the Jewish, Catholic, and
Protestant religions. In 1993, Pope John Paul II bestowed on him the
Order of St. Gregory The Great, the highest honor a layman can
achieve in the Catholic Church, ...