Jess Katzberg, Orange County Jewish Community Leader, 96

Jess Katzberg of Laguna Woods, who served the Jewish community in Orange County for nearly 50 years, died Dec. 15 at 96.

An electronics engineer for many years with North American Rockwell, Katzberg held several U.S. patents and was the inventor of the E-Z Lock Umbrella.

In addition to his service as president of the Anaheim Chapter of B’nai B’rith, Katzberg seeded the North Orange County and other chapters of B’nai B’rith and was honored with the organization’s “Man of the Year” award in 1969.

Katzberg was a founding member of the Orange County Jewish Community Council, the forerunner of the current Jewish Federation of Orange County.

He is survived by his wife, Ruth; daughter, Lois K. (Robert) Rubin; son, Sanford; nine grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and brother, Arthur.

Katzberg was interred at Mount Olive Cemetery in Costa Mesa.

Saul Bar died Dec. 22 at 73. He is survived by his brother, Meyer; and sister, Sylvia. Sholom Chapels

Irwin Belinsky died Jan. 6 at 87. He is survived by his sons, Russell (Nancy) and Mark (Mary Elizabeth); and four grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Julius Blatt died Jan. 4 at 84. He is survived by his wife, Jewel; daughters, Rande Blatt-Cohen and Dana; son, David; two grandchildren; and brother, Perry. Mount Sinai

Philip Caris died Dec. 30 at 87. He is survived by his sons, Lawrence (Phyllis) and Gary (Eileen); daughter, Susan (John) Klein; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

William Diamond died Dec. 22 at 88. He is survived by his daughters, Andrea (Marty) Suart and Diane (George) Happe; son, Ned; and four grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman

Sanford DuRoff died Jan. 2 at 70. He is survived by his daughters, Robyn (Mark) St. Germain and Debra (Steven); son, Michael (Susan); five grandchildren; and sister, Elaine. Mount Sinai

Sendah Eisen died Dec. 27 at 91. She is survived by her sons, Steven and Michael (Carol); and one grandchild. Mount Sinai

Bernard Epstein died Jan. 4 at 79. He is survived by his wife, Miriam; four children; and six grandchildren. Sholom Chapels

Miriam Erps died Jan. 6 at 81. She is survived by her daughter, Bonnie Boisvert; sons, Allan (Eileen) and Neal (Mary); and eight grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Norma Golden died Jan. 5 at 95. She is survived by her daughter, Cynthia (Marvin) Tachner; three grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and brothers, Sidney (Sharon) Schiffer and Roy Pinney. Mount Sinai

Herbert Goldenberg died Dec. 31 at 82. He is survived by his wife, Irene; son, Philip (Deborah); daughters, Erica (Richard) Pelavin and Karen (Eric) Horowitz; and six grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Ruth Greene died Jan. 7 at 95. She is survived by her daughters, Mickie (Jimmy) Hines and Anita (Sam) Hulse; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Barbara Harris died Jan. 2 at 67. She is survived by her husband, Avrum; five children; and grandchildren. Sholom Chapels

Lawrence Hartz died Jan. 3 at 80. He is survived by his daughter, Michelle (Bob); and one grandchild. Mount Sinai

Molly Hersch died Dec. 25 at 91. She is survived by her daughters, Barbara (Steve) Queen and Dyan (Shel) Goodman; son, Jim; five grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and sister, Stella Barr. Malinow and Silverman

Janet Rose Hirsch died Dec. 30 at 75. She is survived by her husband, Larry; three children; grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Sholom Chapels

Jack Hoffman died Dec. 22 at 91. He is survived by his wife, Pauline; son, Steven (Karla); and two grandchildren. Mount Sinai

June Ruth Koss Taxin died Jan. 1 at 86. She is survived by her sons, Allen (Patti) and Leonard (Rhoda) Koss; daughter, Carol (Michael) Karp; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Claire Klein died Jan. 7 at 91. She is survived by her daughters, Maureen (Stanton) Herbert and Sally (William) Kaplan; son, Elliot; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Mount Sinai

Lasar Leifer died Dec. 22 at 89. He is survived by his wife, Lubov; son, Eduard (Anna); and grandchildren. Sholom Chapels

Jack Levinson died Dec. 29 at 81. He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline; children; and grandchildren. Sholom Chapels

Lawrence Lichtenstein died Dec. 31 at 92. He is survived by his wife, Sheila; daughters, Leslie (Richard) Dixon and Tammy Kent; and six grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Esther Livingston died Dec. 30 at 78. She is survived by her son, Edward (Eve); daughter, Helen (Willam) Ross; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Max Mandel died Dec. 16 at 86. He is survived by his daughters, Sandra and Barbara. Sholom Chapels

Norman McCarthy died Jan. 2 at 80. He is survived by his good friend, Dorothy Decker, and her daughter, Evie Koster. Mount Sinai

Arthur Pine died Jan. 6 at 88. He is survived by his daughters, Audrey (Seth) Rosen and Marjorie (Scott Friedman) Markus; and four grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Annabelle Pinsky died Dec. 29 at 90. She is survived by her daughter, Rosalind (Richard) Costelloe; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Judith Pohl died Dec 29 at 86. She is survived by her sons, Jeff and Jonathan; brother, Joseph Naar; niece, Sharnan Miller; and nephews, Andrew and Peter Naar. Mount Sinai

Herbert Rostand died Dec. 26 at 77. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; daughters, Sara (Murray Rosenberg), Elizabeth (Erik) Landswick, Margot and Cindy (Carol Arocha); two grandchildren; and aunt, Mary. Mount Sinai

Irving Saltzman died Jan. 6 at 98. He is survived by his daughter, Marcia Biglaiser; son, Stephen; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Jerry Siegel died Jan. 5 at 81. He is survived by his wife, Adelynne; son, Robert; daughter, Marcia; brother, Harold; sisters-in-law, Sally (Morton) Rossman and Shirley; and three nephews. Mount Sinai

Edith Silverstein died Dec. 29 at 87. She is survived by her son, David; daughter, Barbara; and two nieces. Mount Sinai

James Sklaroff died Jan. 3 at 92. He is survived by his son, Kenneth; daughter, Kathy (Dennis) Vernon; two grandchildren; and sister, Lillian. Mount Sinai

Hal Solomon died Dec. 30 at 86. He is survived by his daughters, Beverly Cherep and Sheri Gorman; son, Richard; two grandchildren; and sisters, Eleanor (Leo) Fischer and Sandra (Jack) Wilson. Mount Sinai

Jerry Stein died Dec. 11 at 73. He is survived by his wife, Sonja; sons, Lloyd and Michael (Eun-Kyung); daughter Sheri (Frank); two grandchildren; and brother, Henry (Laurie). Hillside.