2025 Queen Esther Award
TJMHC’s Purim Committee is pleased to announce this year’s Queen Esther Award honoree is Hedy Feuer.
Hedy personifies the adage, “Actions speak louder than words!” She has quietly and persistently served the Jewish community of Southern Arizona for most of her life through her work in social action and social justice. Even through her own trials, she has continued to persevere in her passion for making Southern Arizona safer and stronger.
After retiring from her sales career in the local food service industry, including Tostino/Arbuckle Coffee Roasters and Shamrock Foods, Hedy became even more deeply involved in community philanthropy. Currently, she serves as co-chair for Kol Ami’s Social Action/Social Justice Committee and works hands-on to provide dinners for unhoused men in shelters through the Primavera Foundation.
Hedy, who is a second-generation Holocaust Survivor, also serves on several committees for Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center. She volunteers her time as museum docent, providing tours and helping to educate visitors on the diversity and depth of Judaism and the dangers of identity-based hatred. She is a past board president for TJMHC who helped bring the Holocaust Education Center to life. In 2021, Hedy was awarded TJMHC's Volunteer of the Year.
Additionally, Hedy volunteered with Jonathan Rothschild and Jill Rich on Operation Deep Freeze, a city-wide program that provides a warm place to stay and food for those without shelter during Tucson’s severe winter weather. She was a committee member of Matza & More, providing Passover meals to community members in need and served as co-chair of Congregation Anshei Israel’s Social Action Committee.
A long-time board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council, Hedy also served on the Women & Philanthropy Board for the then Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and received a Meritorious Award from JFSA in 2016. Hedy also headed several teams on the Susan G. Komen Cancer Walk and organized the first Pink Shabbat challah bake sponsored by Sharsheret (Jewish Breast Cancer Organization).
Her quiet mitzvot extend outside of organized giving and volunteerism such as during COVID, in 2021, when she provided matzah ball soup and Haggadahs to Fire Station 377 for their Passover Seder.
The mother of two and “Nana” to the apple of her eye, granddaughter, Mia, Hedy has passed on her strong sense of community and Jewish values to her family. Her daughter Lauren follows in her philanthropic footsteps serving as a board member for Magen David Adom in Phoenix. This year’s recipient of TJMHC’s Queen Esther Award is a true example of quiet courage and service to the community! We hope you will join us in celebrating Hedy Feuer, TJMHC’s 2025 Queen Esther Award Honoree.