Hannah Frankel Sobel is leaving a gift in her will to McGill students. Yet she never attended the University. In fact, she didn’t finish high school. Her unexpected gift is just the latest twist in a life worthy of a movie script.
“My life was filled with ups and downs, and I sometimes wonder what might’ve been if I had the good fortune to attend university,” says Frankel Sobel. Her planned gift will provide others with the educational opportunities that she never had.
Frankel Sobel grew up in Montreal; her parents were Jewish immigrants from Ukraine and Poland. With limited formal education, the family struggled financially, and faced discrimination from anti-Semitism. “I respected my parents, and I never resented them for the things they could not give me.” Determined to help herself and her family, she left school at 15 to bring in extra income.
A young Hannah Frankel with her parents.
Hannah as a young woman.
Hannah with her children.
Hannah and her grandchildren.
She found work in the garment industry, where she fell in love with a successful salesman. She married at 17, only to be widowed at 21. “I had lived through adversity, and once again I was facing tough times,” she recalls. Determined to succeed, she convinced her employer to hire her for her late husband’s sales job. Her career would take her across Canada then to New York City, where she married twice more.
“While I lacked schooling, I had the drive to succeed, and real world street smarts,” says Frankel Sobel. “My life is a story of rising up from poverty, working hard, and earning a good living. I saved, raised a family, lived responsibly, and overcame challenges. Along the way I experienced setbacks and disappointments, but I am proud of my accomplishments, my three children and six grandchildren, and what I did for my family.”
She and her late husband raised three children in the U.S., all of whom earned university degrees, married and have children. She remains close to family and life-long friends in Canada, including a nephew and two great-nephews who attended McGill. “As I reflected on my childhood in Montreal, I became inspired to give a deserving student from modest means – who hails from a first-generation family like I did – a break in life. And I learned at a young age that education offers a key to unlock one’s future.”
The result is the Hannah Frankel Sobel Entrance Bursary, intended for McGill students from Quebec who are the first in their family to attend university.
“I hope that my life story and my gesture of generosity provides meaningful opportunity for students, and makes a difference for their families and the wider community. And if the students I help enjoy some good fortune in their life, I truly hope they will pay it forward.”
What will your legacy be? Learn more about legacy giving.