By the count of the Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut, some 4,000 people in this region identify as Jewish. The U.S. Census estimates the population of New London County as about 267,000.

Jerry Fischer's charge, as executive director of the federation for the last 35 years, was "to bring acts of loving kindness into the community and the world," as he told the board of directors in his final year-end report. He has primarily served the young, the old, the needy, the successful, the immigrants and the grandchildren of immigrants among those 4,000 souls. But he is far too expansive a personality to let it stop there: He has been a force for civic engagement and the good of the whole quarter-million of us.

His good-humored leadership has served to remind others in his faith community of some ancient words of Hebrew wisdom: "Al tifrosh min hatzibur; Do not separate from the community."

His tenure ends with his retirement this weekend, and The Day joins the voices of thanks and appreciation for the energetic citizenship of Jerome E. Fischer. He reminded us that the past must never be forgotten and the future must always be shaped.

Among the first and most crucial services he rendered was the poignant and persistent remembrance of the Holocaust, which took the lives of six million Jews and others yet continues to face the malignant skepticism of those who would deny it. As long as they were able, the elderly Holocaust survivors living in the region would join in the annual observances organized with Jerry Fischer's leadership. The Encountering Survivors program took them into schools, where they could tell their shattering stories to the younger generation. And when they died, he invited surviving family members to step up and speak for them.

Having seen how denial and hatred can work their evil, a few years ago he developed the Encountering Differences program with the help of leaders in the African-American community. It continues to make history personal for students in the region and enable them to envision the future in light of what they learn.

A person who sets his mind and career to it can do a tremendous amount of good in 35 years, and Jerry Fischer would be the first to say that he had the job he was meant to do. He stoked his exuberant energy with his sense of the importance his work had for his community. He is retiring, although he is not a retiring person in any sense of the word. He and his wife Christine will remain in the area, and we suspect his mitzvahs — his acts of loving kindness — will continue, because that's who Jerry Fischer is.

The Day editorial board meets with political, business and community leaders to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larraneta, Owen Poole, copy editor, and Lisa McGinley, retired deputy managing editor. The board operates independently from The Day newsroom.