In the early years of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School of Greater Washington, when the school operated out of the basement of Ohr Kodesh Congregation and was still finding its footing, Harriet Tudor Platt was often the person making sure everything worked.
“I will say that in the early days of JDS, she really ran the school,” said Elana Elster, whose mother, Shulamith Elster, served as a longtime principal there. “I remember her in the office of Ohr Kodesh as the ‘general.’ She knew every kid by name, every family.”
Platt, who spent 37 years helping run what would become Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, died on March 19. She was 87.
Born on Oct. 12, 1938, in Washington, D.C., Platt grew up in a household deeply rooted in Jewish life and Zionist ideals. Her father, Joseph Tudor, was born in Odessa and later worked as an attorney with the Bureau of Land Management. Her mother, Lillian Halpern Tudor, was born in Poland and taught Hebrew.
“They were extraordinarily strong Zionists,” said Platt’s daughter, Deborah Bluestein. “Everything centered around being Jewish.”
Platt grew up on Second Street Northwest in Washington and was active as a teenager in Young Judea, where she participated in youth programs connected to Zionist education and Jewish community life. She developed friendships that lasted throughout her life. At Calvin Coolidge High School, she served as an editor of the school newspaper. She later attended the University of Maryland, studying nutrition.
Her connection to B’nai Israel Congregation began early in life. Her parents were active members of the synagogue, which was then in the District. It was there that Harriet met her future husband, Ira Platt, at a social event in 1956 after he returned from service in the Korean War.
They married the following year, in December 1957. The couple settled in Silver Spring and raised three children, Deborah, Michael and Loni.
Platt’s professional life became closely tied to Jewish education in the Washington area. In 1965, when the Jewish Day School of Greater Washington opened with seven students in the basement of Ohr Kodesh Congregation, her children were among the first enrolled in the kindergarten and first grade classes. Platt soon began helping the fledgling school operate.
Over the next 37 years, Platt became a central administrative presence. She was hired to handle registration, mailings, newsletters and front-office responsibilities, and served as the person families often turned to for help with questions about the school and its daily operations.
“Everything under the sun,” Bluestein said of her mother’s work.
Elster said Platt played an essential role in keeping the school organized during its early years.
“She could have run the Pentagon and got things done,” Elster said.
Former students also remembered her well.
Naomi Weinberger recalled arriving at the school after her family moved from Boston to the Washington area in 1975.
“I remember my first day at JDS and how Mrs. Platt took me by the hand to help me get situated,” Weinberger said. “I was a tiny 9-year-old and remember looking way, way up at her.”
Weinberger said students quickly understood how important Platt was to the school’s daily life.
“They told me Mrs. Platt ran the school,” she said.
Roz Landy, the current dean of students, reached out to Platt for guidance even after she retired.
“Harriet played a huge and very important part of the school’s growth, Landy said. “She was organizer, planner, supporter and historian in the many years she was with the school. She had an incredible mind for details and for history and everyone turned to her when they needed information, help or advice.”
At home, Platt’s work often blended with family life. Bluestein recalled evenings when school mailings filled the family living room floor.
“We would sit in the living room sorting every piece of mail by zip code,” she said.
Jewish observance shaped Platt’s home life as well. Weekly Shabbat dinners were frequently shared with grandparents and extended family, and Jewish tradition remained central to family routines.
“She kept kosher inside and outside the house always,” Bluestein said.
Platt remained closely connected to B’nai Israel throughout her life, maintaining friendships with clergy and longtime members.
“She always considered it home,” Bluestein said.
After retiring from the day school in 2002, Platt devoted much of her time to caring for family members, including serving as a full-time caregiver for her father during his final months and helping friends and neighbors when they needed support.
Her daughter said helping others defined much of Platt’s life.
“She was a caregiver to anybody that asked and that needed it,” Bluestein said. “Whenever anybody needed help, she was there for them.”
That instinct extended beyond family.
Linda Roth, a longtime family friend whose mother died when she was a teenager, said Platt stepped in to support the family.
“She became ‘Mommy P’ to me and to my little brother,” Roth said.
Bluestein said her mother took particular pride in her seven grandchildren and the family she helped build.
When people remember her, she said, she hopes they remember the way Platt treated others.
“Just how giving and caring she was,” Bluestein said.
Ellen Braunstein is a freelance writer.
