Lillian Kasindorf Kavey

(1889 - 1986)

Born in New York City, Kavey married in 1908 and moved to Port Chester, New York, the community to which she dedicated the rest of her life.  Speaking Russian, Polish, German, and Czech, she opened a pawn shop and loan office that catered to the needs of new European immigrants.  In 1916, Kavey became the first women to be granted a banking license in New York State, and eventually her husband and two sons joined her banking business. Kavey was an activist as well as a businesswoman, working tirelessly for the Jewish Community Center of Port Chester and the Woman's League for Conservative Judaism.  For more than 50 years, she helped the Ethiopian Jewish community with advocacy and funds.

Sources: Jewish Women's Archive