Day: May 8, 2025

“There was always something going on at the J,” said Lee Surwit with a smile. Lee, a current Tucson J Board Member, and longtime – nearly lifetime – member of the J, has seen the J from its Plumer location to its current home at River and Dodge.  

Lee and her late husband Earl, Board President from 1991 to 1993, first found the J when seeking out Jewish community in Tucson. She made friends in exercise classes and took her young children to the pool. But her role and connection to the J soon grew stronger and stronger. 

A member of the J for the last 45 years, Lee and her family had a hand in designing the J’s current facility, built in 1989. “The people that were planning this building had lots of meetings where we came and spoke about what our priorities were, and we were invited to some of those, and we were invited to the groundbreaking. I remember that we had a party on the piece of property to camp out as they were breaking the ground.” 

“We had a little tent, and we slept out on the property with a lot of people. And then I helped give tours of the new building once the building opened because we wanted people to come see it.” 

Staying heavily involved with the J, Lee served on the board of the Tucson J International Film Festival, one of the longest-running Jewish film festivals in the country. “I did meet some amazing, amazing people that I respected greatly, so it was it was a great committee to be on, and I was amazed by how they really bring in the directors, the actors, of these fantastic films… Sometimes you see a film or read a book and you don’t really like it or don’t get it, and then you discuss it and all of a sudden it opens new directions for you.” 

The film festival is just one of the outstanding Arts and Culture programs that the J offers throughout the year. “Arts and culture is a good entry into the J to provide connection. A lot of people, young families, don’t really know what they want to focus on. And if they’re focusing on that search here at the J, that helps them for the future and helps the J create memories for the families and the children,” said Lee. 

As a longtime member and current Board Member, Lee has an interesting perspective on how the J functions as a place for both intergenerational engagement and intercultural engagement. “When the J first opened, one of the things people would say, ‘why do you have this long gallery to get to the exercise class?’ And we said, ‘because it’s like a village, you need to see things going on.’ It’s not just going to your exercise class and leaving, or getting to the concert and leaving – be in community. And I think that’s one of the values of all these different age groups being here.” 

Reflecting on what the J is all about, Lee said that ultimately, “I think that the J provides a place for people to meet each other. I will meet people, not Jewish people, out in the community, and they will belong to the J exercise classes. And I do see sometimes, if I’m exercising, I do see people that I know from other parts of the community. So, it does make the community more cohesive and makes you feel comfortable. And those people feel comfortable here with the J. It’s a gathering place and a place for meeting each other.” 

Looking into the future, Lee hopes that the children in today’s ECE classrooms and summer camps will return to Tucson as adults and find a home again at the J. “The facility’s beautiful. They always keep it up. The grounds are beautiful and inviting for all kinds of milestone events for families,” said Lee. “I think in the future, hopefully it will be as important as it is now and as it was for me.”