Obituaries

Seymour Robinson, “Father of Pan Pacific Park,” 90

Seymour Robinson died Sept. 13 at 90 from pancreatic cancer. Born in Chicago, Robinson was a graduate of Tuley High School and studied at the Chicago College of Music. He was a decorated World War II veteran who received the Croix de Guerre for his contributions to the D-Day Invasion and the liberation of Paris.

A devoted proponent of social justice, Robinson was a CIO labor organizer and activist in his youth. A skilled typographer, he was a partner at Ad Compositors in Los Angeles and lifelong member of the International Typographical Union.After settling with his family in the Pico-Fairfax neighborhood, Robinson was a co-founder and leader of Neighbors Unlimited and Block Party Neighbors, two influential multiracial organizations in West Los Angeles that worked to bring black and white neighbors together and successfully promoted racial integration.

Robinson chaired the Public Affairs Committee of the Westside Jewish Community Center and was a member of the Urban Affairs Committee of the L.A. Board of Education. He was a past member of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee, which assisted small and minority businesses, and the L.A. City Human Relations Commission.

He was president of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee for Pan Pacific Park, and helped coordinate funding for the park from state and local government. Mayor Richard Riordan later officially named him the “Father of Pan Pacific Park.”He is survived by his wife, Anita; children, David, Lorraine and Billy; and granddaughters, Rachel and Mara Woods-Robinson.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate that donations in his memory be made to either the Westside Jewish Community Center, 5870 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036, or to TJ Mahoney & Associates, a transitional program for women directed by his daughter, Lorraine, 524 Kaaahi St., Honolulu, HI 96817.

www.reawakeningforwomen.org.

Rabbi Richard Ira Schachet,founded Valley Outreach, 70

Richard Ira Schachet, founder and rabbi emeritus of Valley Outreach Synagogue in Los Angeles and Henderson, Nev., died of injuries sustained in an automobile accident in San Bernardino County near the Nevada state line. He was 70.

A native of Long Island, N.Y., Schachet was an accomplished academician and rabbi. He earned undergraduate degrees in business administration and Hebrew education, a master’s degree in social anthropology and a doctorate in theology. Schachet completed his rabbinic studies at both the Academy for Higher Jewish Learning and Yeshiva and Mesivta Rabeinu Chaim Ozer, from which he graduated with honors.

Schachet became known for his work in the field of drug abuse, working especially with middle-class families. An article he penned on middle-class Jewish drug addiction and the role of the rabbi was published in an anthology, “The Jewish Family in a Changing World.” He was a consultant to the New York Jewish Federation, where he helped facilitate the first conference on Jewish Drug Abuse.

He was quite active in civil rights causes, participating in sit-ins in the South, marching with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and attending the famous “I Have a Dream” speech. An activist in defending equality for all peoples, he was on the board for the Campaign for Liberty, which successfully prevented the Oregon Initiative, which threatened to take away civil rights from the gay and lesbian community.

After working in Jerusalem for a year, Schachet held a pulpit at Community Temple Beth Ohr, Brooklyn N.Y., and later, was the first rabbi of what is now Temple Solel of Cardiff-by-the-Sea in North San Diego County. He also founded Valley Outreach Synagogue in Los Angeles. In 1993, Schachet founded Valley Outreach Synagogue, Las Vegas.

He is survived by his daughter, Tammy; son-in-law, Cantor Wally Briskin; stepchildren, Alan Zalkind, Lori Dahl and Deborah Morrissey; and grandchildren, Channa and Micah Schachet-Briskin.

Donations may be made to the Schachet Family Music Memorial Fund, c/o Six Point Productions, 9512 Texhoma Ave., Northridge, CA, 91325, www.6Point.com .

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Joan Marilyn Epstein died Sept. 16 at 59. She is survived by her husband, Sherwin; son, Michael; daughter, Mara Wasserman; two grandchildren; and sister, Wendy Rosen-Brooks. Groman

Frank Foulkes died Sept. 17 at 84. He is survived by his brothers, John and William. Groman

Morris Gorrin died Sept. 21 at 86. He is survived by his wife, Ann; sons, Harvey (Jane) and Neal (Ruth); eight grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Henry Jessner died Sept. 16 at 94. He is survived by his sons, Ronald and Maurice; daughter, Esste Engel; seven grandchildren; and nine great grandchildren. Groman

Maurice JiJi died Sept. 23 at 98. He is survived by his daughters, Sandi Eliga, Barbara (Harry) Schenk and Delores; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Harold Kay died Sept. 17 at 93. He is survived by his wife, Lorraine; son, Howard; daughters, Janice Eisman and Valerie; eight grandchildren; six great grandchildren and sisters, Sondra Gorney and Jeanette Rosencranz. Groman

York Lewson died Sept. 22 at 91. He is survived by his son, Sam (Stephanie); grandsons, Spencer and Michael; and brother, Ben. Mount Sinai

Rose Langert Mauel died Sept. 22 at 93. She is survived by her daughters, Judy Sforzini, Lori (Howard) Seago and Susan (Larry Gaines); and four grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Albert Peskin died Sept. 20 at 77. He is survived by his sons, Gary (Janet) and David (Christine); daughter, Ellen (Ben) Heschen; six grandchildren; sister, Mildred Silverman; friend, Francie Hornstein; and significant other, Barbara Haines. Mount Sinai

Michel Schwartz died on Sept. 22 at 73. He is survived by his wife, Rina Schwartz; daughters, Karen (Dan) Durham and Elissa Schwartz; four grandchildren; and sister, Annie Chwat. Mount Sinai

Rose Silbert died Sept. 11 at 87. She is survived by her daughters, Lucy Silbert-Luisi, Mitar Kaur Khalsa and Irene; and four grandchildren. Groman