Joyce Black, philanthropist, 75

Philanthropist and community activist Joyce Black, wife of real estate magnate Stanley Black for 57 years, died on Oct. 4 after a prolonged battle with cancer. She was 75.

Stanley Black recalled Joyce as a witty, humorous person, always ready with a quip, as well as a quick decision maker.

“I met Joyce on the Santa Monica beach when she was only 17,” Stanley Black told the Journal.

After a three-year courtship, the couple had planned a dinner date to discuss wedding plans, but there was a glitch.

“I was in a parking lot when someone sideswiped my car, hitting my arm, and I had to go to emergency,” Stanley Black reminisced. He called Joyce to tell her that the dinner date was off, but she would have none of it.

“She told me, ‘We’re driving to Las Vegas and getting married,’ ” Stanley Black said. “So we did, but we first called our respective mothers, who were pretty aggravated.”

Both their son Jack Black and grandson Zach Zalben described the family matriarch as “a very caring person,” with Zalben adding, “and a lot of fun.” At that point in the phone conversation, Stanley Black chimed in, “She always told it the way it was; she always told the truth.”

Joyce Black was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Jacob and Frieda Gottlieb, and received her education at Beverly Vista Elementary School, John Burroughs Junior High School, Fairfax High School and UCLA.

Together with her husband, Joyce Black was involved in numerous charities and civic organizations, including City of Hope, Vista Del Mar, Israel Bonds, The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles Jewish Home, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Beverly Hills Hadassah, LA ORT and Beit T’Shuvah.

Her personal favorite was the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, an involvement her husband traced back to her own childhood battle with mastoiditis, a severe ear infection that almost left her permanently deaf. 

Shortly before her death, the Blacks made a $15 million donation to the Children’s Hospital for research and clinical care programs. Joyce Black also served as a member of the Beverly Hills Police Commission and on the board of the Los Angeles Opera.

Together with her husband, she was a longtime member of Temple Beth Am, and later of the Temple of the Arts, whose spiritual leader, Rabbi David Baron, will officiate at the funeral services.

Joyce Black is survived by her husband Stanley; daughters Jill Black Zalben and Janis Black Warner; son Jack Black; and grandchildren Brittany Black, Jason Goldman, Jenny Goldman, Joey Goldman, Jake Warner, Torie Zalben and Zach Zalben.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to any of the following charities: Vista Del Mar, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, LA ORT, Beit T’Shuvah, City of Hope and the L.A. Jewish Home.

Funeral services for Joyce Black will be held Tuesday, Oct. 8, 3 p.m. at Hillside Memorial Park.