Skip to main content

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:

National Jewish Hospital Newsletter Covers, between 1929-1939

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0036.00050
Abstract

Three covers of the NJH newsletter. From January, 1931 "Dedicated to Mrs. Seraphine Pisko." From May, 1929 "Nature's Sovereign Remedy by I. D. Bronfin." From May, 1939 a picture of two patients with a caption "Convalescents, The bloom of health is on their cheeks again."

Dates: between 1929-1939

National Jewish Hospital Records

 Collection
Identifier: B005
Abstract In 1899, the Jewish community erected the non-sectarian National Jewish Hospital for Consumptives (NJH), the first sanatorium in Denver, Colorado, for tuberculosis victims. With the financial assistance of the International B'nai B'rith fraternal organization, patients from all over the U.S. were admitted free of charge. The NJH adopted a program that emphasized the benefits of fresh air, proper nutrition, and rest. The hospital was founded by a group of Jewish residents of Denver who were...
Dates: 1892-2017

Filtered By

  • Subject: Jews X
  • Subject: Physicians X

Additional filters:

Type
Archival Object 1
Collection 1
 
Subject
Asthma -- Treatment 1
Colfax Avenue (Colo.) 1
Colorado 1
Hospitals 1
Jewish hospitals -- Colorado -- Denver 1