Sunday, October 4, 2026
Lev tov, a Hebrew phrase that translates to good heart, is a core value of Jewish life and whether it was Rabbi Ronald Androphy, David Frank, Dara Freimark or Ethan Lahey , all described Jeffrey Frank as a person who had lev tov in spades.
Frank, 74, was killed in a hit-and-run car accident on Broadway in Hewlett at night on Dec. 18. Family, friends and the Hewlett Fire Department, along with representatives from the Lawrence-Cedarhurst, Meadowmere Park, Oceanside, Valley Stream and Woodmere departments attended the Sunday service at Boulevard-Riverside Chapels in Hewlett.
A 35-year member of the Hewlett F.D., Frank was known for his encyclopedic knowledge of music, which he put to use as a longtime DJ, a tremendous singing voice —performing karaoke was a favorite pastime — and for being that person with a good heart.
“He was the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back,” said Androphy, rabbi emeritus of the East Meadow Beth-El Jewish Center who serves as the chaplain for the East Meadow Fire Department. “He had an emphatic heart.”
A graduate of the Lynbrook Academy, Frank went to Northern Arizona University and spent some time in Florida.
Frank, a Hewlett resident, had two families. The one he was born into and the Hewett department.
“My uncle was a kind-hearted, selfless person,” said nephew David, “he had an incredible ease making friends. He took great pleasure in dong favors for his friends.”
Known as “JJ,” Frank was always ready to drive people somewhere, always knew someone to get something and served as the family historian, David said.
“He always seemed to know a know guy,” David added, remembering that his uncle somehow got a hold of bootlegged videotapes of movies still in the theaters.
Though not the oldest child, Frank was the first to drive shifting the family car into neutral as a 3-year-old and gliding into a neighbor’s driveway, David recounted.
“Laughter, friendship and love,” David said would be the memories of his uncle he will hold dear.
Dara noted lovingly that Frank “did things his way.”
She also has a wonderful voice singing “A Wonderful World,” in memory of her uncle.
“Jeffrey you were a angel on Earth,” she said before singing. “Despite the tragedy, Jeffrey would want us to (think of) life as a wonderful place.”
After the last lyric of the song, Dara said, “I love you, Jeffrey.”
Lahey, a Hewlett Fire District commissioner, noted that Frank joined the fire department in 1989 and became part of Engine Company 2.
Saying that Frank was the epitome that there is a job for every person, Lahey said that Frank was on top of department paperwork, photographing all the department activities and events, taking the monthly trip to Costco to keep the firehouse fully stocked and making sure that there were desserts at the monthly meetings.
“He was the nicest, kindest man around,” Lahey said. “He will be sorely missed, but never forgotten.”
After the funeral service, there was a committal service at New Montefiore Cemetery in West Babylon.
