Millerton remembers Jake Shoifet

MILLERTON — Jacob Shoifet, known to all who loved him simply as Jake, lived a long and vibrant life. A war hero and former Millerton mayor, Shoifet spent years advocating for hungry children in local schools. He died peacefully on Thursday, June 4, at the age of 95 in a nursing home in Houston, Texas. He moved to the Southwest a number of years ago with his wife, Shirley, to be near their daughter and her family.

“He made the decision to move closer to his family and put all his ducks in a row so that he could make it as easy as possible,” said daughter Laura Yaffee. “And he was pretty much, until the last couple of weeks, alert and doing the best he could. 

“He drove until he was 92. They lived in an apartment for two years and then moved into an assisted-living nursing home,” she added. “My mother doesn’t want to be greedy, but she said 95 years weren’t enough.”

That’s because, Shirley Shoifet said, her husband was such a wonderful and generous person.

“Jake accomplished an awful lot in his life,” she said. “He went to Washington to get effective legislation so that no poor child from a low-income family would go hungry. He arranged for free hot lunches so that other children wouldn’t know it was free.”

In fact, Shoifet lobbied in Washington as an official of the American School Food Service Association and was invited to testify before Sen. George McGovern’s Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs at a series of hearings that led to the  ground-breaking Child Nutrition Act.

Tending to children’s base needs was important to Shoifet. Shirley recalled an instance while her husband worked as school lunch manager in both the Webutuck and Pine Plains school districts, from 1960 to 1986, when a youngster turned away chocolate pudding because of the dollop of whipped cream on top.

“‘I don’t eat chocolate pudding with shaving cream on it,’ he said. That house had never seen whipped cream,” she remembered, “so Jake bought a dozen cans of whipped cream and brought it to that boy’s home.”

Another memory Shirley shared was when Jake had his restaurant, the Gateway Drive-In Restaurant, and needed a dishwasher.

“He went to the Maplebrook School and asked the president if one of them could be trained as a dishwasher,” she said. “My husband taught that child to be a dishwasher … other merchants  were smart enough  to follow suit. He was a humanitarian. He was a decent human being, a true mensch. There’s no other word for it.”

Shirley explained that in Yiddish “mensch” means a person of high integrity, “a true human being,” in her words.

“I never came across a mensch like that,” she said. “He was elected mayor three times, even though they said they would never elect a Democrat and a Jew.”

That first election win was a close one, with Shoifet just barely taking the lead. At the time he was the first Democrat to be elected mayor in Millerton in 112 years. The next two elections were landslides, his wife said.

“He was really a very fine man,” said friend Dave Shufelt. “He served in World War II and was always doing something to benefit others. That’s one of the things I remember about him. Jake was a special guy in so many ways and just enjoyed doing things for the community — no question about it.”

One example of Shoifet’s activities was the annual Steamboat Roast Lions Club Dinner he would host at Eddie Collins Field. 

“He would go up to the high school and the Lions Club would buy two huge roast beefs and then he would carve it and have dinner at the ball field,” said Shufelt. “He did that for many years. Jake enjoyed doing things that benefited the community, not so much himself, and he enjoyed seeing people be entertained and happy. Plus, he was a great mayor.”

Shufelt said Shoifet was so good at governing the village that despite being a Republican himself, and Shoifet a Democrat, he campaigned tirelessly for Shoifet.

“I worked very hard to make sure he got elected because he was such a capable leader,” said Shufelt. “He knew how to get things done. I can go on and on about him.”

And so could others. 

“Jake wasn’t a physically big man, but he had a big, open personality,” said friend and Village Trustee Dave Sherman. “You always knew when Jake came into a building. He greeted everyone with ample voice and a smile, and occasionally with a humorous joke about recent events. If he had some issue on his mind, he would tell you about it loud and clear.”

“Jacob ‘Jake’ Shoifet was a person of great empathy and generosity in both his private and his public life,” said friend Edward Downey. “His legacy to us is that a life is well lived when a meaningful part of it is devoted to the service of others.”

“The whole Shoifet family was a real asset to Millerton,” said friend Julie Schroeder. “They were really for the community in ways we seem to be losing. My heart goes out to the family, especially Shirley. They were good people, and it’s a shock, but if Jake was 95 …”

“I just remember how wonderful he was,” said Jeanne [Shufelt] Rebillard. “He worked at the school and when I was a kid in the neighborhood everybody played kickball and baseball on the field behind his house. They used to get Shoifet and Shufelt mixed up and we used to get each other’s packages all the time. It was funny.”

Recreation was important to Shoifet, who donated personal funds for the creation of Eddie Collins Field.

“That money came from Jacob Shoifet, donated for the field because he wanted poor children to have a place to play,” said Shirley. “He was just interested in needy people.”

That sense of altruism was evident in everything Shoifet did, including his military service in the Air Force. He was a member of the crew that flew from Guam in the longest over-water bombing mission of World War II in December, 1943.

Before moving to Texas, Shoifet was honored by the Millerton Lions Club as Citizen of the Year in 1983 as well as by the North East Historical Society and the American Legion Post 178. 

His last job in the region was as site manager of the Senior Nutrition Program in Lakeville, Conn., where he continued providing nutritious meals to people of all ages.

In addition to his wife of 56 years, Shirley (Abrahamson), Shoifet is survived by his son, Jay, and his daughter, Laura Yaffee and her husband Wayne, along with grandchildren Shani, Nadav, Shosh and husband, Yaron, and Gabi. 

Memorial donations may be sent to Astor Services for Children and Families in Dutchess County or the Southern Poverty Law Center, one of Shoifet’s favorite charities. A full obituary is on page A11.