Richard Siemens, a developer and philanthropist who donated the West Boca land that became the headquarters of south Palm Beach County’s Jewish community, died on Dec. 17. He was 82.
With two business partners, Siemens offered the property, originally destined to become a residential development, for the home of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County. Dedicated in 1991, today it is a bustling complex of schools, senior centers, offices, apartments and abundant social activities.
The site bears the name of him and his wife, the Richard and Carole Siemens Jewish Campus. The 100-acre complex is constantly adding new institutions to accommodate the Jewish community, including most recently, Katz Yeshiva High School of South Florida and Sinai Residences, a senior living complex.
Siemens and his wife moved to Boca Raton from Monsey, N.Y. in 1975. In south Palm Beach County, his development projects included the Polo Club in Boca Raton, Harbour’s Edge senior community in Delray Beach and the Akoya luxury complex in Boca West.
But he focused his abundant energy on the Jewish community, who “knew my dad could do the impossible,” said his son, Rob.
“He had a dry sense of humor and a way of getting things done,” Rob Siemens said. “My office was right outside his, and the rabbis just paraded in.”
At the time of his death, he was working to find a new site for Torah Academy of Boca Raton, an Orthodox Jewish school that has grown from 19 students 19 years ago to 400 today at three sites.
Rabbi Reuven Feinberg, the academy’s dean, said he relished the time he spent with Siemens, whom he described as “blunt with a heart of gold.”
“He was never afraid to tell us how he felt,” Feinberg said. “When we got our current property, he said, ‘You’re going to outgrow it,’ and he was right. He was trying to secure a 30-acre property for us. He really believed the key to Jewish survival was education.”
Siemens’ philanthropy spread beyond the Jewish community to include the Drug Abuse Foundation of Palm Beach County, where he attained the title of Life Director and helped build the Siemens-Evert Comprehensive Service Campus in Delray Beach.
Besides his wife and son Rob, Siemens is survived by his other children, Alan, Scott and Rebecca, and their spouses. He had nine grandchildren.
A memorial service is planned for Jan. 9 at Temple Beth El of Boca Raton.
Lsolomon