The Late Roderick Artom Romain z''l
Rev. Yossi Houri writes:
It was with great sadness that the Wembley Congregation had learnt of the passing of a loyal and lifelong supporter, Roddy Romain z”l.
From the formative stage of our Congregation, as it struggled to establish itself, back in the middle of the last century, Roddy Romain took great interest in its development and its wellbeing.
When the Elders and the Mahamad identified the acute problem facing the influx of Sepharadim who settled in various parts of North West London, in particular their gradual disengagement from their Sepharadi heritage, they asked Roderick Romain to organise Religion Classes for them. He did so in his own home in Pinner, where these classes were held from 1956 to 1959.
This was the beginning of a long process of not only bringing these scattered Sepharadim under the umbrella of the Spanish & Portuguese Jews’ Congregation, but to eventually leading to the creation of the Wembley Congregation.
Five years later, in 1964, when the Wembley Congregation began to take shape, the Mahamad had asked Mr Romain to help the Wembley Congregation to establish itself. He joined the Wembley Committee the same year and served on that Committee for many years.
The first task of finding a suitable site for constructing a permanent building in the Wembley area, proved a protracted and a formidable one, with apparently insurmountable local authority planning issues and financial considerations.
Again, Mr Romain’s constant, sound, professional and farsighted advice throughout was invaluable and was greatly appreciated.
As obstacles mounted, and as the whole project was on the verge of collapse, Roddy came to the rescue by acquiring the freehold of 75, Oakington Avenue, which he placed at the disposal of the Kahal, until such time that the Kahal was able to raise the required funding and reimburse him.
The purchase of the Oakington Avenue property proved a lifeline, and put the project back on track, as it provided extra land and facilitated the construction work, thereby ultimately ensuring that not only the Synagogue building, but also the adjacent Edinburgh House, were finally completed, in 1977.
Today, more than thirty years on, the Synagogue is, of course, still open and functioning, and this is due in no small measure to the not insignificant efforts and assistance of Roddy Romain.
May his noble soul rest in peace.
Our deep condolences to his daughter Susan and his son Michael and all the family, and we wish them all Hayyim Arukkim.