Harvey Sandler, who donated millions to Boca Raton causes, dies at 77

If you visit Boca Raton Regional Hospital, Florida Atlantic University or the Levis Jewish Community Center, there’s a name displayed prominently on each campus: Harvey Sandler.

Sandler and his wife, Phyllis, donated millions to Boca Raton community institutions, making many of them into regional destinations for health care, academia and social life.

Sandler, whose philosophy was “Everyone should give and give and give until it feels good,” died on New Year’s Day. He was 77.

Phyllis Sandler told the South Florida Sun Sentinel in 2005 that she and her husband were two poor kids from Brooklyn before becoming successful in business. Harvey Sandler owned Sandler Capital Management in New York and Phyllis Sandler had worked as a financial planner for a life insurance company.

The couple also owned a Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Puerto Rico before they retired.

Harvey Sandler’s philanthropic career began more than 20 years ago, when he developed brain cancer and vowed to begin supporting local causes to thank the community for his survival, said Mark Larkin, president of the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation.

In 2005, the couple donated $20 million toward a new cancer center at Boca Regional, which became the Harvey & Phyllis Sandler Pavilion at the Lynn Cancer Institute. The hospital’s Sandler Medical Plaza is also named for them. Harvey Sandler went on to serve on the hospital’s board and investment committee.

The couple ultimately donated more than $30 million to the hospital, Larkin said Friday.

“He was quiet at times, but he had a great wit about him," Larkin said. “He was a remarkable human being who saw how his wealth could make an impact,”

The couple’s donations also included $2.5 million to the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County for the JCC’s adult activities complex, the Phyllis & Harvey Sandler Center.

“He felt strongly about creating a sense of community here,” said Stephanie Owitz, the center’s director. “He wanted it to be a hub of activity.”

The center is on the Jewish Federation campus, where the Sandlers donated more than $15 million over the years, president Matt Levin said.

“He brought his entire family in to change people’s lives,” Levin said. “Harvey made philanthropy a family business.”

Sandler had five children, 17 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

The Sandlers also donated $1 million for an education center at their synagogue, Congregation B’nai Israel in Boca Raton. The Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work is named for them at Florida Atlantic University.

His funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at Congregation B’nai Israel, 2200 Yamato Road, Boca Raton.

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