Courtesy of JTA. Photo credit: Sean Zanni via Getty Images
Wesley LePatner at the DiMenna Children’s History Museum Family Benefit in 2019
(JTA) — Several weeks ago, Wesley LePatner had lunch with her synagogue’s co-founder and rebbetzin, who recalled on social media that they discussed “the future, our children, women’s leadership, Torah, our love for Israel and all of the uncertainty of this moment in time.”
No one could have known that LePatner would soon be gunned down, in a mass shooting at the office building in Manhattan where she had ascended at one of the city’s most prestigious investment firms. But in the wake of her murder on Monday, many of those who knew her are mourning the loss of a Jewish leader who demonstrated her care for all that she discussed at that lunch.
She was killed, along with three others, when a gunman opened fire at her office building, 345 Park Ave., which houses Blackstone as well as the NFL. The alleged shooter, who shot himself to death, may have been targeting the NFL, city officials said on Tuesday.
“She was the most loving wife, mother, daughter, sister and relative, who enriched our lives in every way imaginable,” her family said in a statement. “To so many others, she was a beloved, fiercely loyal and caring friend, and a driven and extraordinarily talented professional and colleague. At this unbearably painful time, we are experiencing an enormous, gaping hole in our hearts that will never be filled, yet we will carry on the remarkable legacy Wesley created.”
LePatner had deep ties in New York’s Jewish community, where she grew and returned after college to make a mark on religious, educational and charitable organizations.
In December 2023, soon after she led a solidarity mission to Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks, UJA honored her with the Alan C. Greenberg Young Leadership Award at its annual Wall Street Dinner. The award honored LePatner for her commitment to the Jewish community “and her remarkable achievements, all the more notable as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field,” the organization said in a statement.
“She lived with courage and conviction, instilling in her two children a deep love for Judaism and the Jewish people,” UJA added.
