Doris Blum, a lifelong San Franciscan and Jewish philanthropist, was celebrated Oct. 28 at Congregation Emanu-El in honor of her 100th birthday. Fittingly, more than 100 friends and relatives turned out to toast a woman who has come to be known as a fixture of the city’s Jewish community.
“She’s an unbelievable matriarch,” said Morgan Blum, Doris’ granddaughter and the director of education at the S.F.-based Jewish Family and Children’s Services’ Holocaust Center. “She has really dedicated her life to her priorities — supporting the community, building an amazing family, creating strong educational opportunities.”
Blum was born in Vancouver, Canada,-on Nov. 9, 1911 and moved to San Francisco at the age of 2. She attended Lowell High School, then U.C. Berkeley. After graduating, she was a founding member of the sorority and philanthropic organization Theta Delta Xi. Her husband, Ben, died more than 30 years ago.
In the 1960s, Blum’s work with Mount Zion Hospital led her to be named auxiliary president of the nonprofit hospital. She has been an active, vocal supporter of Israel and a contributor to the Contemporary Jewish Museum.
But she also should be celebrated for her fearlessness and her love of travel, according to her family. “She’s traveled all over the world,” Morgan Blum said. “Eight years ago, she traveled to Vietnam with my brother and his wife. How many women in their 90s would do that?”
In lieu of gifts, Doris Blum requested that her friends and family make donations to the JFCS Holocaust Center, a gesture that held a lot of meaning for her granddaughter.
“She’s definitely inspired me and contributed to the work I’ve been doing,” Morgan said. “But that’s her. She’s always made sure that all of us as Blums feel socially responsible both within the Jewish community and in the greater world.”
— emma silvers