Adrienne Goldsmith
Adrienne Goldsmith died peacefully in her home on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012 at the age of 78. A lifelong artist and writer, Adrienne Kessler was born in Manhattan on Nov. 2, 1933. At the age of 11, while a student at P.S. 52 in NYC, she was noticed by Superman creator Joe Shuster, who was dating her older sister. He encouraged her to create her own comic strip, from which “Katy Kitten” was born.
She graduated in 1954 from Barnard College, where she majored in zoology and was also active in publicity and drama. Following college, she won an 18-month scholarship to the New York Academy of Design. After a brief stint in advertising, she moved to Los Angeles to work as an art director for the Malcolm Steinlauf fashion agency.
Her next career move was to the thriving animation industry of the late 1950s. She joined Jay Ward Productions in 1959 as a character model designer, helping to create the beloved flying squirrel and talking moose of “The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.” Adrienne not only designed characters but also inspired them; Natasha Fatale’s character was based in part on her short skirts and flamboyant personality.
Adrienne married Werner Goldsmith in 1961 and moved to Berkeley, where he was on the faculty. She embraced the Bay Area peace movement, taking part in protests on Telegraph Avenue and in People’s Park, often with her two young children in tow. She loved being a mom and directed her creativity toward her children with wildly imaginative birthday parties and Berkeley Hills block parties.
She returned to Los Angeles and the animation industry in 1969, working for Hanna-Barbera on “The Flintstones” and “Scooby Doo.” She later became a technical writer and illustrator for Lockheed in Los Angeles and Aerojet in Alabama. She adored the South and adopted both its cooking style and Southern drawl.
After the birth of her second grandchild, Adrienne returned to Northern California to be close to her family. She settled in Santa Rosa at Bethlehem Towers, where she was known as a colorful and lively character. Her creativity was unbounded; she was always undertaking some new creative endeavor in art, music, writing, or an animated musical combining all three. She loved to draw, and every blank paper throughout her home was quickly filled with doodles of crazy characters reminiscent of her bygone animation era. She embraced technology, especially PowerPoint, which she used to create wild and crazy emails full of dancing cows, unusual characters and sounds, music, and loving thoughts.
She was a lifelong learner, taking classes in everything from algebra to medicine, opera to ancient Chinese philosophy; in fact, she was attending a class on music in films at the time of her death. Her greatest joy was her grandchildren, whom she would shower with love, presents and stories at every opportunity.
Adrienne is survived by her two children, Andrea and Stephen Goldsmith, her grandchildren, Michelle Goldsmith, Daniel Salz and Nicole Salz, her sister Francine Erns, and her nephew Douglas Erns. Funeral services were held at the Hills of Eternity Memorial Park, Colma, CA. A memorial celebrating her life was held at Bethlehem Towers.
Sinai Memorial Chapel
Fenja Reiss
Dr. Fenja S. Reiss, a much-adored physician, died on March 17, 2012 less than three weeks before her 98th birthday. A warm and gracious counselor with a fierce intellect, Dr. Reiss led a life of conscience, compassion and commitment. Her engaging qualities were nurtured by her upbringing in Lithuania.
Dr. Reiss was educated in Munich and, along with her sister Nadja, was one of the first female graduates of the Vienna Medical School. After the 1938 “Anschluss,” when Austria became essentially another province of the Nazi Reich, she escaped to United States, where, for 35 years, she practiced as an anesthesiologist in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Among working moms, Dr. Reiss was a pioneer: a devoted wife to Dr. George I. Reiss for 65 years, a loving and attentive mother and grandmother, and a highly regarded physician — balancing it all with astonishing effortlessness. A prodigious reader and a formidable bridge player who played regularly at the Metropolitan Club, she also enjoyed cooking, opera and a variety of artistic pursuits. She spoke numerous languages and traveled extensively.
A genuine charmer, Dr. Reiss could cosset and nurture in the most casual of conversations. She left behind friends from every restaurant she dined in, every meeting she attended and every street she walked down.
She is survived by her children, Janet Reiss (Andrew) Lederer, Barbara Reiss (James) Snyder and Nancy Reiss (Arn) Tellem; and grandchildren, Alexander and Daniel Snyder; and Michael, Matthew and Eric Tellem. Funeral services were held at the Home of Peace Cemetery, Colma. Donations to the following charities in her memory are preferred: Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (www.michaeljfox.org) and the Sutter VNA & Hospice, 1625 Van Ness Ave., Suite 4-A, San Francisco, CA.
Sinai Memorial Chapel
Dick Senn
Dick possessed a rare combination of intelligence, integrity, a generous heart and a deep love of life. He grew up in Hyde Park, IL to Irving and Silvia Senn. He attended and graduated the University of Chicago Lab School, Swarthmore College, the University of Chicago Law School and later Harvard Business School. He believed in the value of education, remaining involved with Swarthmore College throughout his life — fundraising, organizing reunions and interviewing prospective students.
Dick Senn was born Oct. 17, 1934 in Chicago, IL and died peacefully in the arms of his beloved wife Barbara on Jan. 25, 2012, in Sonoma at the age of 77. He was as focused and disciplined on “beating” cancer as he was with any other project he took on in his life. The secret to his living well beyond any statistical probability was his fierce love of life and his strong indomitable spirit.
Dick’s adventurous spirit led him to live and work as far afield as Geneva, Switzerland, Pakistan and Southeast Asia. He loved to reach across cultural boundaries to expose others to democracy and humanistic values. After graduating from law school, he did a stint with United States Information Services in Karachi, Pakistan, where he quickly realized he didn’t belong in bureaucracy. He traveled through Southeast Asia selling mutual funds to Americans, and on to Saigon, Vietnam, before the war, where he developed and built the country’s first two large hotels. He joined and grew Investors Overseas Service (IOS) as VP of Marketing Services in Geneva, Switzerland. While there, he became publisher of Geneva Weekly Tribune.
When he returned to the States, he applied his entrepreneurial skills as president and owner of a variety of innovative companies in computer software, health aids and solar heating panels, and started a malpractice insurance company for cosmetic surgeons. After he moved to Pacific Palisades, he began real estate development projects, which extend to present day.
Wherever he worked, he brought the same integrity, intelligence, love of problem-solving and abundant creativity to the table. He was a true individual in the highest sense in that he did not care what others thought of him as long as he knew he was being fair. He called himself an “entrepreneurial gadfly.”
After what he called “a domestic reorganization” in 1991, he moved to Seattle, WA where he met Barbara Sachs via a Jewish personal ad in 1994. They married under a grove of oak trees on their property in Sonoma. He said, “Meeting Barbara was a life-defining event, as I knew immediately we were ‘beshert.’ She became the love of my life.” As father of Mara and Tana, Dick took Barbara’s adult children, Deborah and Bradley, as his own.
In his personal and business dealings, Dick was known to be direct (speaking his truth in a matter-of-fact way), kind, warm, optimistic and generous of time and expertise. As he prospered, it was his priority to give back, be active in the Jewish communities where he lived, and to sit on boards. Dick had a wacky streak, a beautiful smile, a generous heart and a dry sense of humor. Idiosyncratic, he wore cargo pants and shirts, a white cowboy hat, and followed disciplined exercise regimes. He loved chocolate as much as quality products, be it hardwood floors, new gadgets or fine food.
Despite his well-traveled life, he was a homebody at heart, settling into the home he built with Barbara in Sonoma. Dick was a caring father and grandfather. Family and friends remember his love of cooking, especially his crepes, chocolate-chip matzah pancakes, brisket and chicken soup that he made with love, especially on Shabbat.
Dick worked for several political candidates, fundraising and getting out the vote. He was a deeply passionate political person. He believed campaign finance reform was the only way to change Washington. He would objectively explain why Democratic values and Democrats were the best direction for the nation so not only the few with money would benefit.
Dick is survived by his wife, Barbara Sachs-Senn; his children and their spouses, Mara (Chris), Tana (Kevin), Deborah (Robin) and son Bradley (Amy); sister, Barbara Shapiro; grandchildren, Noah, Sarah, Ben, Aaron, Rachel, Seth, Beatrice, and Mira; and his faithful cat Blackie.
He advocated and lived a life that was transformative. When asked what is the most important thing in life, he responded “loving and relationships.”
Donations in honor of his life can be made to any of the following charities. Please note on donation “in memory of Dick Senn.” All are tax-deductible. Dick Senn ’56 Scholarship Fund, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081; Commonweal Cancer Help Program Scholarship (CHP Scholarship), www.commonweal.org; EMET/The Pat That Helps (nonprofit Dick and Barbara created to provide small grants to individuals in need), 539 Broadway #D1, Sonoma, CA 95476.
Dr. Gilbert Simon Lewis, Oct. 10, 1935–March 16, 2012
Died peacefully at home, in Las Vegas, Nevada
Dr. Gilbert Lewis (Gil) was born in Detroit, Michigan and was an honor student at the University of Michigan and the UM Medical School. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. He did his medical internship at Wadsworth Veterans Hospital in Los Angeles, California. He served in the U.S Air Force and was stationed at Goose Bay, Labrador before he became a Doctor of Psychiatry.
He practiced in Northern California and married Alice Gates in an outdoor ceremony at the Marin Art and Garden Center in 1970. He and Alice entertained frequently in their beautiful Pacific Heights apartment in San Francisco. They divorced in 1980. During the 1970s, Gil and Alice worked in Houston, Texas, where he served as director of the Involuntary Commitment Unit of the Harris County Psychiatric Hospital.
He worked at the methadone clinic in San Francisco and also for the Santa Clara County Prison System. He served as director of the psychiatry unit at CMF, the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, California, where he remained until his retirement in 2000.
He relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he lived with his son, William. Gil was a very outgoing person and enjoyed fishing and automobile racing. He was active in San Francisco Jewish singles groups in the 1960s. Some of the charities that he supported include the Southern Poverty Law Center and Boys’ Life. He was preceded in death by his close brother, David, who passed away several years ago. He will be missed by many friends in Nevada and California. Donations can be made in his name to the Jewish Family and Children’s Services in Las Vegas (www.jfsalv.org). His son, William King Lewis ([email protected]), lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.