Dr. Felix Glaubach, who co-founded a successful home care corporation and became a major funder of Orthodox institutions, died last Thursday at 93.

Glaubach, who lived in Bal Harbor, Fla., but traveled frequently to Jerusalem, was buried on Sunday in the Eretz HaChaim Cemetery in Beit Shemesh, Israel, his family said.

Raised in Borough Park, Brooklyn, Glaubach attended Yeshiva University’s MTA high school, graduating in 1946, and then Yeshiva College, which he graduated from in 1950. This marked the beginning of his decades-long relationship with the Orthodox institution, to which he donated $10 million in 2021 for the university’s career center, which was renamed the Shevet Glaubach Center for Career Strategy and Professional Development. He also served on the board of trustees of the university, a board member of its Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and a board member and former board chair of the university’s high school system.

Yeshiva University eulogized Glaubach last week, describing him as a “cherished and respected leader whose profound dedication and vision have left an indelible mark on our community.”

After serving in the U.S. Army, reaching the rank of captain, Glaubach attended dental school to become an orthodontist and ran a private practice from 1957 to 1991. Together with his wife, Dr. Miriam Glaubach, and attorney Robert Marx, Glaubach co-founded the Long Island City, N.Y.-based Personal-Touch Home Care, which provided medical care, in 1974. Glaubach served as president and CEO of the company until 2011, soon after the business expanded and Glaubach’s relationship with many at the company, including Marx, apparently soured, leading to an extended legal battle. 

With the success of their businesses, Felix and Miriam Glaubach were able to make significant donations to causes in Israel and in the United States. The couple also amassed a large collection of Judaica, which they dubbed “Mishkan Glaubach.”

In 2006, Felix surprised his wife on Mother’s Day by opening in her honor the Miriam Glaubach Center through Nishmat: The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women, which brought the concept of yoatzot halacha (female halachic advisors) from Israel to the United States. At first, these advisors — experts in specific areas of Jewish law, primarily those dealing with ritual purity — were brought in from Israel to the United States, until the center launched its own training program in 2011. 

“For 19 years I have been driven by Dr. Felix’s acumen, sharp questions and confidence. More than anything, I have admired his endless love of every individual — his devotion to ensuring that every Jewish woman receives empathic care and support as she strives to abide by Jewish law,” Rabbanit Atara Eis, the director of the center, wrote about Glaubach on Wednesday in The Jewish Link.

In 2008, the couple contributed to the construction of the department of pediatric emergency medicine at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center, which was named in their honor. Around the same time, the couple also became involved with the Jerusalem Great Synagogue, where Felix served as president for several years.

In 2019, the Glaubaches donated $5 million to the Orthodox Union’s NCSY youth group to create a program for college-aged advisors, known as the Shevet Glaubach Fellowship.

“Through Shevet Glaubach, hundreds of collegiate leaders have gained skills and a sense of responsibility for the spiritual vibrancy of North American Jewish communities, in turn impacting tens of thousands of Jewish teens and the communities in which they live,” Rabbi Micah Greenland, the international director of NCSY, said in an email to stakeholders.

Glaubach is survived by his wife and six children: Baruch (Ariel), Esther (David Muschel), Tammy (Dr. Hillel Bryk), Shulamit, Simeon and Jonathan (Cory), along with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.