Margaret Lois Berman passed away on June 1, 2009. Born in San Francisco on July 19, 1942.
Preceded in death by her parents Benjamin Resch and Martha Seigal Resch and brother Allen Resch. Survived by sister, Rosalie Gottlieb, son Steven Berman, daughter Stephanie Berman Goodall and Melissa Berman Skillsky, son Marc Berman, grandchildren, Brandon Skillsky, Jeremy Goodall, Ashley Skillsky and Mckenna Goodall. Attended Carlmont High School in Belmont, Ca.
Studied Music at College of San Mateo. She was a collection specialist for GE. Memorial Service on June 15, 2009 at Home of Peace Jewish Cemetery, Sacramento.
Donations to NCJW Family Shalom, PO Box 660012, Sacramento, CA 95866.
Barbara Leventhal-Stern
February 16, 1948-May 30, 2009
Barbara Leventhal-Stern died Saturday, May 30, 2009. She was 61. She was born in Springfield, Ohio in 1948 and lived in Palo Alto for the last 30 years.
Barbara was a graduate of Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and received her BFA from Tufts University-The Boston Museum School after attending art school at Washington University in St. Louis, her MFA from San Jose State University after attending the Claremont Graduate School, and her MFCC from the University of San Francisco.
Barbara was a figurative and narrative artist, using prints, woodcuts and large oils to tell visual stories about her family’s past, immigrants, and people in crisis. She loved to paint animals and focused on the magical ways that animals help support and bear witness to the challenges of human living. Her canvases evoke and enact her clear-sighted vision of possibility and transformation, and remain a permanent beacon of her incandescent soul. Her works are held in many private and museum collections, and a selection may be viewed at bleventhalstern.com.
Barbara also worked with troubled kids for many years as an art therapist at AchieveKids in Palo Alto, and taught painting and printmaking workshops at the Pacific Art League. She was actively involved in the Bay Area Jewish community as a member of Congregation Etz Chayim in Palo Alto, a board member of the former Albert L. Schultz Jewish Community Center and in her many charitable activities, and her art often addressed the theme of Jewish identity in the Diaspora.
Barbara was fiercely devoted to her students, her patients, her children, her family and her art. She was an artist of relationships as well as of paint and canvas, helping to shape lives and knit communities together. Wherever she lived, she was a catalyst for relationships that cut across the ordinary boundaries and barriers of life. And in each new setting, she carried her old networks with her and integrated them in to a new and broader circle of friendships and professional connections. She was beloved by many, and her wit, compassion, empathy, joyfulness and love of life enriched the lives of her family, friends and colleagues.
Barbara leaves behind her husband Michael Stern and their two sons, Joshua and Nathaniel of Palo Alto. She is also survived by her mother, Shirley Leventhal of Boca Raton, Florida; her sister, Laurie Leventhal-Belfer (and Laurie’s husband Howard Belfer and their children Isaac and Jessie) of Palo Alto; her brother, Robert Leventhal (and his wife Sarah Moore Leventhal and their sons Daniel, Mica and Elie) of Dayton, Ohio, and by her mother-in-law Ruth Goldberg of Boca Raton, Florida and her sisters-in-law Marcy Schwartz (and her husband Richard Schwartz and their sons Noah and Gabriel) of Portland, Oregon; Dale Goldberg (and her husband Mark Dlott and their daughter Casey and son Max) of Dayton, Ohio, and Marsha Goldberg (and her husband Chuck Turner) of Columbus, Ohio.
Contributions in Barbara’s memory may be made to: Michael and Barbara Leventhal-Stern Donor Directed Fund, Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1399 South Roxbury, Los Angeles, CA 90035 (www.wiesenthal.com) or the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties, South Peninsula Region, 5150 El Camino Real, Building D, Suite 11, Los Altos, CA 94022 ([email protected]).
David Seth Melnick, born November 23, 1956, died May 23, 2009 unexpectedly and peacefully in his sleep while traveling in China with his wife, Terri.
David was born in San Francisco CA. He spent his childhood in Marin. During his youth he was a member of the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization and the Organization to Aid Soviet Jews. Always very techno-savvy; he built his first computer as a teenager and was one of the youngest members of the Marin Amateur Radio Club in the late seventies. He earned an associate degree at College of Marin and served as student body president. David received a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, San Francisco and was involved in the Master’s Program at Golden Gate University. He specialized in the information technology field for over 30 years.
Married in June 1981. David and his family moved to Lafayette CA in 1995. A dedicated family man, he was a past coach for Twin Cities Soccer League and Lafayette Little League. He also served as a volunteer for the Orinda Academy. David enjoyed sailing, traveling, and cycling. He also continued as a HAM radio operator and was affiliated with the Mount Diablo Amateur Radio Club.
David was a man of integrity and honesty as well as a very giving person. He always found the time to help others. He loved to read and had a voracious appetite for learning.
He will remain forever in the hearts of his wife, Terri; son, Monte; parents, Jack and Marjorie; mother-in-law, Elaine Renas; sister and brother-in-law, Rachel and Bryon Botsford, and nephews, Alec and Cole Botsford.
A Celebration of David’s Life will be held on Saturday, June 20th at 2:30 pm in The Lake Room at Heather Farms Park on 301 N. San Carlos Dr., in Walnut Creek, CA 94598.