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Pisko, Seraphine Eppstein, 1861-1942

 Person

Biography

Seraphine Eppstein Pisko (1861-1942) was known for her charitable work in Denver, Colorado, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and she was most likely the first Jewish woman in America to head a national Jewish organization. She was born to Max and Bertha Eppstein on January 1, 1861, in St. Joseph, Missouri, and the family moved to Denver in 1875. She married Denver businessman Edward Pisko in 1878 when she was seventeen, and the couple moved to New York. Within a few years he died, and she returned to Denver. She never remarried, but raised five children. Seraphine Pisko served as president of the Hebrew Ladies' Benevolent Society and of the Denver Chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW). She later became vice president of the NCJW board at the national level. She began working at National Jewish Hospital for Consumptives (NJH) as a field secretary, a fundraiser, in 1900, and in 1911 she became the executive secretary of National Jewish Hospital and served in that position until 1938 when she retired. Pisko was actively involved in both Jewish and secular social organizations, gaining national renown for her organizational strengths as well as her social efforts. She died in Denver in 1942.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

Marianne Pisko Hausmann Pen and Ink Drawing

 Collection
Identifier: B198
Abstract Marianne Pisko Hausmann (1880-1969) was born in Vienna, Austria and studied at the Academy of the Austrian Museum of Art and Industry in Vienna. She moved to Denver in 1939 to join her daughter Margaret Grieg, an ophthamologist who had settled in Denver in 1938. Marianne was the niece of Denver Jewish pioneer Edward Pisko, who was elected a Colorado Territorial Representative in 1875. Her aunt by marriage, Seraphine Pisko, served as the executive director of National Jewish Hospital from...
Dates: circa 1910-1918

Oral History Interview with Surriee Miller, 1979 July 19

 Item
Identifier: B098.07.0009.00006
Abstract

Topics Covered: Family background and immigrating, growing up in Denver with 8 other siblings, Jewish community, working at the Jewish Community Center, nature of the Center’s work; mentions Isadore Rude, Bloomfield, Guldman, Pisko and many others; camp, loved working at the Center.

Dates: 1979 July 19

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  • Subject: Colorado X
  • Subject: Immigrants -- Colorado -- Denver X

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