'Community Left With A Huge Void' After Local Father's Death

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA — PVPUSD School Board member Jeffrey Frankel's unexpected death on April 3 has rocked his family and friends. He was 58 years old.

Frankel was born Nov. 24, 1962, in London, Ontario, Canada, and he was raised on Long Island in Baldwin, New York. He attended college at the State of University of New York College at Buffalo.

He enjoyed a successful marketing career with King World Productions, Shark/Ninja and as an independent consultant, according to his brother, Mark.

"He loved the Grateful Dead and fast food, although not necessarily in that order," Mark said.

He was passionate about education and started scaling back his consultancy in recent years so he could spend more of his time volunteering for the Palos Verdes School District. And in Nov. 2020, he was elected to the school board.

His goal was for every student, including special needs students, to reach their full potential, and he found untapped funding sources to finance his vision, Mark said.

Frankel is survived by his daughter Jillian, to whom he was completely devoted, and who inherited his caring and humorous spirit. He is also survived by his mother Gloria Frankel, his siblings, Karen Rozen and Mark Frankel, his niece Mindy Zaidman and his nephews, David Rozen, Louie Frankel and Kevin Frankel.

"For all of his success, Jeff was mostly known for the person he was: kind, caring, generous and humble," Mark said.

Frankel's niece, Mindy Zaidman, described how much he meant to their family.

"Jeff was a loving father, supportive uncle, and wonderful son," Zaidman told Patch. "Jeff was an incredibly passionate and supportive person."

His work was devoted to his community and spanned beyond the business world.

"Jeff was fulfilled by his business career," Zaidman said. "But except for a brief period when he worked as an NBC page on the Johnny Carson show, he was never really thrilled by it. Then he discovered that he could put his skills to work in the service of education in general, and the special needs population in particular. He made that his mission."

He was inspired to help.

"Jeff poured his heart and soul into making the world a better place especially for children with special needs," Zaidman said. "His life revolved around his daughter, Jillian who has special needs. She had inspired Jeff to become the advocate that he was. If you knew Jeff, you knew all about Jillian. Jillian was his world and he would do anything for her. Jeff was a change-maker. He wanted more for his daughter and the special needs community and decided to join the school board where he could truly make a difference and be part of the change."

That change led him to serve his community in the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

"His passion for helping children with special needs was commendable," Zaidman said. "Jeff’s highly supportive manner combined with a tireless work rate and incredible dependability made him extremely well suited as a school board member."

He helped change the way others view disabilities and challenged the status quo.

"Jeff spoke with others to eliminate damaging misconceptions about disabilities and helped pave the way for friendship and understanding," Zaidman said.

But there is one thing he would most want to be remembered for, she added.

"Among Jeff’s many accomplishments the one I’m sure he would most want to be remembered for is being Jillian’s father," Zaidman said. "He was completely, thoroughly dedicated to her, fighting for inclusion, having pride in her accomplishments, and enjoying her company."

Now, things are not quite the same.

"His loss leaves a huge hole in our family, and we will miss him terribly," Zaidman said. "We are consoled by how loved he and Jillian are in their community and know that his memory will live on in the hearts of his many friends and colleagues."

Friend Kathy Daigle said Frankel was always there for her and the community.

"Jeff was an incredibly giving person and everyone called him for help," Daigle told Patch. "He assisted hundreds of families in our community in big and small ways. He always went above and beyond when answering any request for help."

He was willing to share his expertise and help anytime he could.

"Jeff was an intelligent visionary leader with a plan for a better world for everyone," Daigle said. "Our community is left with a huge void and we cannot imagine a world without Jeff."

Frankel's death has left a vacancy on the PVPUSD school board, which now has 60 days to either appoint an interim replacement or schedule a special election to replace Frankel and fill the four-year seat. The term is set to expire by November 2022.

Frankel's family has asked the community to help honor his memory and work. They have set up a GoFundMe fundraiser that benefits the Transition To Independence Program at PVUSD, which his daughter attends. Visit the website to donate.

"We are so appreciative of the outpouring of love for Jeff," Zaidman said. "Jeff loved the PVUSD special needs programs and we want to honor this as his legacy."

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