Nancy and Hank visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra, India.
A chance encounter on a snowy Syracuse day sparked a love story that would span decades, bridging faith traditions and leaving a lasting impact on Syracuse University. Henry “Hank” Markiewicz ’71, a graduate of the Whitman School of Management, and Nancy G. Markiewicz ’73, a graduate of Falk College, share their journey from students to alumni to benefactors as proof of the enduring bonds formed at Syracuse. Their recent gift to Syracuse Hillel not only honors their family’s legacy but also reinforces the University’s commitment to inclusivity and interfaith understanding.
Hank and Nancy, who currently reside in Phoenix, Arizona, have long supported the efforts of the University through athletic, academic and alumni interests. In 1982, Hank co-founded the Phoenix-based Syracuse University Alumni Club with a fellow alumnus, Gary Mather. Recently, Hank and Nancy donated to Syracuse Hillel through Hendricks Chapel in honor of Dr. Alfred Englander, Dr. Erna Englander and Bernard Englander L’73.
It was one of those famously snowy Syracuse winters that brought Hank and Nancy together. Nancy and her friend, also named Nancy, attempted to walk Crouse Drive toward downtown in the hopes of Christmas shopping when two young men drove up in a car and thankfully offered them a ride.
Hank later saw Nancy in the Sadler dining hall, and after chatting with her, he decided to ask her out on a date. However, there were four students named Nancy on her residence hall floor at the time, and Hank didn’t know her last name. It was a little risky, but he took a guess. “I met him, then he called me and asked for a date, and he luckily got the right Nancy,” said Nancy, more than 50 years later. “At least I hope he found the right Nancy!”
When they decided to tie the knot, Nancy and Hank chose to be married at Hendricks Chapel in the heart of the Syracuse University campus, which opened its doors in 1930 as a multifaith chapel. However, they faced a unique challenge in finding a rabbi and priest to perform the wedding together. Catholic priests and rabbis in the 1970s were too often unwilling to marry people of different faith traditions.
Their first step was to speak with Father Joseph Valky, an assistant to Monsignor Charles Borgognoni from the University’s Catholic Center. Valky interviewed the couple about their relationship and faith. Then, Hank and Nancy met with Rabbi Julius Rosenthal of Hartsdale, New York. Once the priest and the rabbi agreed to co-officiate, the rabbi offered a plan for a combined interfaith ceremony.
It was raining when the families came together at Hendricks Chapel for the ceremony. Rabbi Rosenthal and Father Valky, speaking in both Latin and Hebrew, led the ceremony as planned. The couple received a start time for the wedding but not an end time. With two religious officials at the wedding, it went significantly longer than most single-faith weddings.
When the ceremony concluded, and they finally opened the Chapel’s doors as Mr. and Mrs. Markiewicz, they were surprised to see hundreds of people standing on the steps in the rain. Those gathered were waiting to hear a lecture from Buckminster Fuller, the renowned American architect, who was scheduled to speak that day in Hendricks Chapel. The crowd applauded the young couple before heading inside to hear from Fuller.
The families made their way over to Drumlins Country Club for the reception along with aunts, uncles, cousins, parents and friends. The local band was tasked with playing a polka by Hank’s Uncle Sam, who came from Israel for the wedding. Uncle Sam taught Nancy to dance to the polka, and the party was deemed a success.
Hank and Nancy have visited campus often over the years for football games and during family visits. When they decided to donate to the Unversity, they spoke with Pam Mulligan ’89, executive director of alumni engagement for the northeast. Mulligan introduced the couple to Jillian Juni, executive director of Syracuse Hillel. “I really wanted to do this to recognize my aunt and uncle, who were Holocaust survivors, as were my parents,” says Hank. “My aunt and uncle had been in Syracuse from the sixties. They were active in the community and at their synagogue, which is currently the home of the Skyler Hotel.”
New Torah scroll covers
After speaking with Juni, Hank and Nancy chose to fund the purchase of 100 High Holiday prayer books for Hillel, along with the design and fabrication of new Torah scroll covers. “Torah scrolls are made of parchment, and Jewish communities have protected these sacred scrolls for centuries with beautiful covers,” says Juni. “Syracuse Hillel’s new Torah covers were designed to connect the Jewish concept that the Torah is a ‘tree of life’ that nurtures and sustains us, with the orange, a symbol at Syracuse University that represents community and belonging.”
“We are so thankful to Hank and Nancy for their generous gift in memory of loved ones, which enables us to weave religious tradition, gratitude, and remembrance together through these covers,” says Juni. Each book and cover has a label honoring the memory of Hank’s aunt, uncle and cousin.
After several years away, Hank and Nancy will be visiting campus for the upcoming Coming Back Together festivities and plan to visit Hendricks Chapel, Syracuse Hillel and the Catholic Center.
For more information about Syracuse Hillel or weddings at Hendricks Chapel, visit our website.
