Rabbi Sidney Guthman died at 98

Rabbi Sidney Guthman, rabbi emeritus of Shir Chadash (formerly Temple Sinai) in Lakewood and Temple Shalom in Seal Beach, died Oct. 21 at 98.

Guthman marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., in 1965, and walked in King’s march on Washington, D.C., in 1963, which concluded with the “I Have A Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial.

A native of Chicago, Ill., Guthman was the sixth of eight children of Rabbi Gerson and Esther Guthman. He graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1934, was ordained from The Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1938 and was awarded an honorary doctor of divinity degree from JTS in 1971.

In addition to Southern California, Guthman also held pulpits in New England and San Antonio, Tex. (Agudas Achim), and co-edited the book, “Sabbath Eve Services and Hymns” (Hebrew Publishing Company), with Robert Segal.

He was chairman of the Community Advisory Commission in Long Beach and past president of the Western States Region of the Rabbinical Assembly, the Long Beach chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews and the Long Beach Interfaith Clergy Association.

Guthman was chaplain at the V.A. Medical Center in Long Beach until he retired at age 95, and served as grand chaplain of the Grand Masonic Lodge of California.

He is survived by his wife, Eleanor; daughter, Betty (Donald) Schwartz; son David (Caren); five grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; sister, Shirley Kaufmann; and 14 nieces and nephews.