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Obituaries

Obituaries for November 2007
[additional-authors]
December 28, 2007

Abraham Balaban died Nov. 23 at 85. He is survived by his sons, Gary, and Jeffrey. Hillside

Dr. Leonard Breslaw died Nov. 1 at 83. He is survived by his wife, Elayne; daughters, Donna (Brian) Jones, Amy Louise Goldberg, Robin (Scott) Weisbond, Iris (Gary) Spiegel; nine grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Dr. Joel Lawrence Herskowitz died 22 Cheshvan (Nov. 3) at 71. He is survived by his wife, Carol; sons, Jeffery (Sherry) and Dr. Marc; grandson, Jackson; and sister, Edith (David) Goldstein. Groman

Selma Tracer Goldman died Nov. 23 at 87. She is survived by her sons, Ken and Gerry; daughters-in-law, Sue and Vera; grandchildren, Stephanie, Jason, Heather, Michael, Brian; and sister, Charlotte Goroff. Mount Sinai

Bernice Gordon died Nov. 22 at 86. She is survived by her husband, Arnold; sons, Bob (Chris) and Harvey (Jeanne); daughter, Yocheved (Chuck) Novack; 13 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and sister, Helen Bergtrom. Mount Sinai

Carol Jaffe died Nov. 23 at 69. She is survived by her husband, Jack; son, Jack; daughter, Dara (Jeff) Tillotson; and sister, Connie (Bernie) Schneider. Mount Sinai

Arthur Klapper died Nov. 22 at 87. He is survived by his wife, Betty; daughter, Zina; and son, Doug. Hillside

Nettie Mislove died Nov. 23 at 94. She is survived by her sons, Michael and Steven; and daughters, Linda Donnelly and Eileen. Hillside

Edward Mohilef died Nov. 23 at 55. He is survived by his life partner, James Cramer; brothers, David (Monica) and Paul (Diane); nieces; great-nephew; and great-nieces. Hillside

Shirley Shuman died Nov. 22 at 85. She is survived by her son, Charles (Deborah); three grandchildren; brother, Sidney (Carole) Meltzner; and sister, Rena Goodman. Mount Sinai

Eva Ruth Steinberg died Nov. 24 at 86. She is survived by her son, Hal; daughters Harriet Moncrief and Marilyn Manset; 10 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Groman

Jerome Lester Tannenbaum died Nov. 22 at 87. He is survived by his wife, Beverly; daughters, Leslie (Mark) Van Houten and Julie (Gary) Lobel; sons, Steven (Beth) and David (Russ); seven grandchildren; sister, Toby (Fred) Meyer. Malinow and Silverman


The Journal remembers some of the men and women from our larger Jewish family whom we lost in 2007. Although they are gone, their legacies will continue through their movies, television shows, plays, music, books and good works.Joey Bishop, last surviving member of the Rat Pack, died Oct. 17 at 89.

Art Buchwald, humorist and columnist, died Jan. 17 at 81.

Abe Coleman, professional wrestler during the Great Depression era, died March 28 at 101.

Hal Fishman, KTLA Prime News anchor since 1975, died Aug. 7 at 75.

Edwin “Ed” S. Friendly Jr., creator of “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” and “Little House on the Prairie,” died June 17 at 85.

David Halberstam, 73, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, died April 23 at 73

Joe Herzenberg, first openly gay elected official in North Carolina, died Oct. 28 at 66.

Teddy Kollek, mayor of Jerusalem (1965–1993), died Jan 2 at 95.

Arthur Kornberg, recipient of the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, died Oct. 26 at 89.

Ira Levin, author (“Rosemary’s Baby,” “The Stepford Wives”) and playwright (“Deathtrap”), died Nov. 12 at 78.

Itzik Kol, Oscar-nominated Israeli film producer (“The Policeman”), died July 8 at 75.

Liviu Librescu, professor of engineering at Virginia Tech who was killed saving his students’ lives, died April 16 at 76..

Norman Mailer, 84, Pulitzer Prize–winning author (“The Naked and the Dead,” “The Executioner’s Song”), died Nov. 10 at 84.

Marcel Marceau, French mime artist, died Sept. 22 at 84.

Judy Mazel, cookbook author (“The Beverly Hills Diet”), died Oct. 12 at 63.

Grace Paley, short story writer (“The Little Disturbances of Man”), poet and political activist, died Aug. 22 at 84.

Stuart Rosenberg, “Cool Hand Luke” director, died March 5 at 79.

Avraham Shapira, Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel (1983–1993), died Sept. 27 at 93.

Melville Shavelson, film director and screenwriter (“The Princess and the Pirate”), died Aug. 8 at 90.

Sidney Sheldon, author and TV producer (“I Dream of Jeannie” and “Hart to Hart”), died Jan. 30 at 89.

Joel Siegel 63, film critic for ABC’s “Good Morning America,” died June 29 at 63.

Beverly Sills, 78, award-winning soprano and humanitarian, died July 2 at 78.

Mel Tolkin, 94, head writer for “Your Show of Shows” died Nov. 26 at 94.

Rabbi Sherwin Wine, founder of the Humanistic Judaism movement, died July 21 at 79.

Hy Zaret, lyricist and co-author of the 1955 hit, “Unchained Melody, ” died July 2 at 99.


Paulene Weinstein Ledeen, ‘Bubbe Teresa,’ died Nov. 27 at 97.

Pauline Weinstein Ledeen, retired attorney, community activist and life-long member of Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park and Eagle Rock, died Nov. 27, 2007, from congestive heart failure brought on by pneumonia. She was 97.

Ledeen was active in the synagogue her entire life, serving on the board until her death. She attended Shabbat services regularly, except when she was ill or out of town, and had her own designated seat with special back support.

“She was the soul of the congregation,” according to Temple Beth Israel president Bill Fishman.

Ledeen presented what Fishman believes is her first drash ever in August 2006, at age 96.

“As a little girl I was not allowed to have a bat mitzvah,” she told the congregation before expounding on the Ten Commandments in Parshat Va’etchanan.

Ledeen, who was born on July 28. 1910, in Boston and moved to Highland Park at age 12, graduated from Southwestern University School of Law in 1933. She first worked as a legal secretary and then opened her own office in El Monte, where she specialized in contract law and estate planning. Later she joined the family business, Ledeen, Inc., an engineering firm. She is the first life member of the Criminal Courts Bar Association.

Retiring after 39 years in the legal field, she began a career visiting incarcerated Jewish prisoners, offering comfort, contacting their families and bringing Passover dinners. This work, which earned her the nickname, “Bubbe Teresa,” was an outgrowth of her involvement with the Jewish Committee for Personal Service (JCPS). She explained her work to family members by saying, “They’re just people who made mistakes.”

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