Janet Goldstein was born in Queens and raised in North Massapequa. She attended SUNY Oneonta, where she majored in French. She met her husband, Howard, when they both worked in a now defunct store, Great Eastern Department Store. They married in 1976 and moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, where Howard went to medical school. Upon their return, they settled in Queens, where their three sons, Scott, Harrison, and Daniel, were born. 

 

Janet worked in the World Trade Center as a paralegal until 1987 when she left to stay at home with her children. The family moved from Woodhaven, Queens, in 1989 and joined Huntington Jewish Center that fall, enrolling Harrison in the nursery program. When the youngest was in school all day, Janet began working in Howard’s endocrinology office in Garden City, teaching herself “the joys” of medical billing and dealing with insurance companies.

 

In 2020, just before Covid reared its ugly head, Janet retired. Since the pandemic ended, she has worked part-time in the office at the local tennis club where she regularly plays tennis, continues to spend time visiting with her sons, daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren, and gardens, hikes, and plays pickleball. Howard is also retired now and enjoys playing pickleball and gardening.

 

Their son Scott lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Jackie, daughter, Jane, age 8, and son, Daschel, age 5. Scott is a consultant for Rails for Trails, a non-profit that converts unused railways into hiking and biking trails. Their son Harrison and daughter-in-law Adeline live in London, where Harrison works in the movies for Marvel Studios; they have an 18-month-old son, Oliver. Their youngest son, Daniel, works in electrical sales and is looking for a house on Long Island. 

 

 

Volunteering at the Temple, which Janet enjoys very much, has become a priority. She serves on the Sisterhood Board, co-chairs the annual blood drive, and co-chaired the rummage sale before it was discontinued during Covid. She is part of a Sisterhood team that cooks and prepares food for every Shabbat kiddush and sets the tables. She participates in cooking for “A Taste of Passover,” the temple-wide pre-Passover dinner that her “very active” Sisterhood runs, and also helps prepare a booklet of Passover recipes for dinner attendees.

 

Janet gratefully accepts the honor of being selected as Huntington Jewish Center’s Woman of Achievement.