About Joann Raskas

JoAnn Raskas, a longtime St. Louis resident known for her generous philanthropy, giving spirit, and love for everyone she met

|24 June 2025

JoAnn Raskas, a longtime St. Louis resident known for her generous philanthropy, giving spirit, and love for everyone she met, passed away on Feb. 6, surrounded by her loved ones. She was 83 years old.

Born on Sept. 28, 1937, she was the first child of Morris and Jean Landau. Her father was a pharmacist, and her mother worked for the family-operated children’s clothing stores.

She studied education at Washington University, where she met Stuart Raskas, a Detroit native who was then news editor at KXLW radio.

The two were married in 1958 and were blessed with three children: Julie was born in 1959, followed by Sharon in 1960, and then Yehuda (Eric) in 1963.

She stood beside her husband, longtime president of the MMG Corp., a neckwear manufacturer, as he took leadership positions at a number of communal organizations, including B’nai Brith, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Jewish Federation of Saint Louis, the Jewish Community Center Association of West County, Shaare Zedek Synagogue, the Israel Bonds Organization, and the Olivette Land Clearance and Redevelopment Authority.

Joann Landau married Stuart I. Raskas
Joann Landau married Stuart I. Raskas. This photo was taken on their wedding day.

After Stuart’s 1991 passing at the age of 54 due to cancer, she kept up his philanthropic giving and added many causes of her own, including the St. Louis Wellness Center, dedicated to the complete health and wellness of people battling cancer.

“Mom’s most outstanding value was being a good friend to everyone,” recalls Julie. “She was the first one at the hospital when someone fell ill. She was the first to check in after a surgery, and she would do anything to help someone in need, often before they even realized they were in need. When it snowed on school days, she was the first one waiting outside in her car, ready to ferry as many kids as possible back home.”

And her largess extended far beyond those whom she knew well. When she discovered that someone’s grandchild suffered from anxiety, she offered to pay for the treatment. Upon hearing about acquaintances who were trying to open a bakery, she gladly supplied the funds for them to get the project off the ground.

Joann helping others

Whenever she learned of another’s need—or even a desire—she would do what it took to fill the lack, never taking price into account or expecting accolades or even thanks.

“Growing up, our home was always overflowing with every kind of junk food you could imagine,” says Sharon, “Mom was a giver and she just wanted everyone who entered our house to be happy and comfortable. Even the dog knew to come begging from her under the table during meal times.”

She maintained lifelong friendships, including with Wilma and Harvey Gerstein, dear friends for 62 years, and Sandy (and the late Harry) Wolf.

She prized family above all, never missing a family celebration as long as her health allowed it, and showering her children, children-in-law, and grandchildren with affection, concern, and gifts.

Her solicitousness and generosity extended naturally to the friends of her children and grandchildren, taking an interest in each one and forming personal bonds with many. Comfortable with technology, she took to social media so that she could remain in touch with her grandchildren.

Together with her beloved partner of more than 20 years, Ron Rosen, she traveled as far as Los Angeles and Israel to spend time with her treasured grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Although she had been raised Reform, she gladly raised her family in the traditional manner her husband was accustomed to, attending synagogue, and shepherding their children to Hebrew and Sunday school throughout the week. This attribute remained as she watched with pride as each of her children adopted more Orthodox lifestyles.

Blessed with a keen fashion sense and the means to acquire many creature comforts, she never valued possessions, seeing them as tools through which she could connect with others and bring them joy.

To her, a shopping spree with a grandchild, a gift for a friend, or a well-chosen birthday present for a child-in-law was worth infinitely more than acquiring anything for herself.

“She derived her happiness through bringing happiness to others,” explains Sharon, who noted that her mother never missed a birthday or another milestone important to those around her.

“Our mother had a universal sense of chessed (kindness),” says Yehuda. “Whether it was the governor’s wife or a stranger she met that day, the response was the same: to treat them as if they had known each other their entire lives. She accorded every individual with respect, dignity, and friendship.”

Joann seen lighting the Shabbos Candles
Joann seen lighting the Shabbos Candles

A classic example: She won $10,000 in a raffle organized by Chabad of St. Louis shortly after the Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 caused more than $15 billion in damage. She spent her prize money on a grand shopping spree for disadvantaged children at FAO Schwartz, allowing them to buy whatever they wanted.

She had an innate love of life and a desire to live, which remained with her until her very last breath. Diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), she suffered greatly in her last years. Yet, as Sharon put it, “She squeezed out every breath she could out of her body. No matter how weak her body became, she became stronger and stronger in soul.”

Poetically, even as many of her organs failed her, her heart, overflowing with love and kindness, remained strong until the very end.

She passed away at home, in Clayton, Mo., surrounded by her partner, children, children-in-law and grandchildren, on the morning of Shabbat Yitro, as Jews in synagogues all around the world heard the reading of the 10 Commandments.

She is survived by her partner, Ron Rosen; children, Julie and Don Eisenberg, Sharon Devorah and Shmuel Goodman, and Yehuda Eliyahu and Elisheva Raskas; 11 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.

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