SAPIRSTEIN-STONE-WEISS FAMILY

SAPIRSTEIN-STONE-WEISS FAMILY , Cleveland, Ohio, business and philanthropic family. jacob j. sapirstein (1884–1987) emigrated from Poland to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1906 and began what would become the second largest greeting card company in the world, American Greetings Corporation, by selling postcards imported from Germany. Sons Irving and Morris worked with their father from a very young age. The company pioneered display stands for greeting cards and began designing and printing its own cards in 1936. In 1940 the sons changed their name to Stone, and in 1960 irving i. stone (1909–2000) succeeded his father as president of the company. morry weiss, married to a granddaughter of the family, joined the company in 1961 and became president in 1978. In 2003 great-grandson zev weiss became chief executive officer of American Greetings.

The family has been a consistent supporter of Orthodox Jewish causes in Cleveland, the United States, and Israel, most notably the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, the Telshe Yeshiva (Wickliffe, Ohio), Yeshiva University, and Telshe Stone in Israel. Several widely used ArtScroll publications bear the family names, including the Stone Chumash and Tanach and the Sapirstein Rashi. Morry Weiss is on the board of Yeshiva University and is a prime supporter of Edah. The family members' philanthropic efforts have been associated with Orthodox Zionist and modern Orthodox causes, and they have been active participants in the larger Cleveland community, both Jewish and secular.

bibliography:

D. Van Tassel and J. Grabowski (eds.), "American Greetings," "Sapirstein, Jacob J.," "Stone, Irving, I.," in: Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, online edition, http://ech.cwru.edu.ech (1998, 1997, and 2001); ms. 4581 Jacob J. Sapirstein Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio; "Irving Stone: Pioneer of Jewish Education Passes Away at 90," in: Booknews from ArtScroll Online, http://www.artscroll.com/mem_feb00.htm.