Services Set For Rabbi Aaron Panken, 53

MAMARONECK, NY — Funeral arrangements for Rabbi Aaron Panken, 53, who was killed in the crash of a plane he was piloting the morning of May 5 in Orange County, have been announced. A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 8 at Westchester Reform Temple, 255 Mamaroneck Rd. in Scarsdale.

A memorial service will be announced at a later date.

Panken, who was president of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, was piloting the plane with flight instructor Frank Riess, 65, of Wallkill.

The state police said they were conducting an evaluation flight out of Randall Airport in the Town of Wallkill.

The plane, which was identified as an Aeronica 7AC, crashed in the Town of Wawayanda, off Dolsontown Road, around 9 a.m. Saturday.

Both men were taken to Orange Regional Medical Center. Panken was pronounced dead by hospital staff.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were notified and responded to the scene.

State police said the investigation is ongoing.

Ordained by HUC-JIR in New York in 1991, Panken joined the HUC-JIR faculty in 1995, and served as dean of students (1996-1998), dean of the New York Campus (1998-2007), and vice president for strategic initiatives (2007-2010), before being becoming the 12th president in HUC-JIR's 143- year history Jan. 1, 2014.

Panken is survived by his wife Lisa Messinger, his children Eli and Samantha, his parents Beverly and Peter and his sister Rabbi Melinda Panken of Congregation Shaari Emeth in Manalapan, NJ.

His family requests donations in his memory be made to the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, 1 West Fourth St., New York, NY 10012 or huc.edu/memorial.

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