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Leo Gabow visited 100 countries in his 81 years. The founding president of Menlo Park's Sino-Judaic Institute was not a typical tourist, however.

"He was an amateur anthropologist," said Bess Gabow, his wife of 61 years. "He loved seeing people in their own natural environment. He was very curious."

Gabow died Feb. 16 at the Palo Alto home he and his wife had shared for 44 years, after battling leukemia for more than three years.

Throughout much of his life, Gabow pursued both scholarly and humanitarian concerns, particularly in Jewish and Chinese cultures.

In 1985, he set up the Sino-Judaic Institute to further knowledge of the history and activities of Jews in China. The institute now has 350 members worldwide.

"He wanted to resurrect whatever he could of the Jewish presence in China, because it had already died out," said his widow.

Despite his illness, Gabow, a retired chemist, remained fairly active in the Sino-Judaic Institute. In September he saw the realization of a dream — the staging of a traveling exhibition on the Jews of Kaifeng, China. He gathered photographs, memorabilia and artifacts connected to the village's 12th-century synagogue, now destroyed.

The show opened at the Albert L. Schultz Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto. It is currently in Hawaii and is scheduled for other stops. A duplicate exhibit was sent to the Kaifeng Municipal Museum, where it will be on permanent display.

"Even though his health was declining in the last year, he came up with a lot of ideas," said Albert E. Dien, current Sino-Judaic Institute president and a retired Stanford professor of Chinese history.

Gabow was also a founding chair of the Jewish Community Relations Council's South Peninsula committee and worked on numerous JCRC projects and programs.

At least 50 attended Sunday's memorial service, held at the ALSJCC, where Gabow was an active member of the education committee and where he had delivered talks on Jews of Kaifeng and related topics.

"I liked listening to Leo when he gave a lecture," said Dien. "His great energy and enthusiasm appealed to me. His interest in scholarly pursuits came through."

Gabow and his wife shared an adventurous spirit. They met in Newark, N.J. Shortly after marrying in 1937, they hitchhiked across the country before settling in San Francisco.

After getting a degree at San Francisco State University, Gabow served in the Navy as a medic during World War II. He was stationed in New Guinea.

During the memorial, Sanford Blovad, a friend and ALSJCC executive director, said: "Leo was the only person in his outfit to interact with the local natives and villagers. Word spread throughout the village that `Leo the Medic' was here to treat the children and while he was at it, Leo also taught himself the language of the village."

Bess Gabow said her husband's favorite country by far was Israel, where he took at least eight trips, including one during the Gulf War.

Longtime Israeli friend Estelle Hillaly — who first met the Gabows while they were both living in Hong Kong during the late '60s — sent a fax to the institute honoring Gabow. She wrote that Gabow's ties with Israel developed in midlife.

On earlier travels in Asia, he "wasn't interested" in including Israel in his itinerary. "But on a return trip from India [in the mid-'60s], he felt the sudden urge to see this country. Well, he never looked back," she wrote. "He was so thrilled with what he saw that he tried to convey to his whole family his excited reaction. At one time he even considered settling here.

"When Iraq began the Gulf War and the Scuds thundered into Israel, Leo decided on the spur of the moment to identify himself with the Israeli people."

Bess Gabow said her husband was devoted to Israel. "It being the homeland for Jews, he felt that was the only way the Jewish people as a people would survive."

At the memorial, several close friends and colleagues spoke of Gabow's integrity, his sense of humor and his zest to learn.

"It was a tribute to him," said Rena Krasno, friend and Sino-Judaic Institute board member and public affairs director. "People were speaking with great affection and respect for him. It was not just lip service."

She said that during the service, Gabow's son Steven, a professor of anthropology at San Francisco State, recalled a trip he and his father took to New Zealand during Gabow's illness. His father wanted to see a cluster of glaciers, but viewing them required a lengthy trek.

"He walked two miles to see something beautiful," Krasno said. "It shows he had a lot of courage."

Gabow's interest in the Jews of Kaifeng was sparked when he picked up a pamphlet on Jews in China at Jerusalem's Israel Museum.

While the family lived in Hong Kong for five years, he ran an import-export pharmaceutical firm and traveled extensively.

In 1984, Gabow and his wife took their first trip to Kaifeng. "The people were most appealing to us," said Bess Gabow. "They were friendly and honest. They were human beings without the monetary corruption."

They met Chinese Jews. "The Jews of China were never persecuted, but they knew they were different," she said.

Soon after, Gabow had gathered enough research and international contacts to form the Sino-Judaic Institute.

Dien said Gabow's daily efforts — from lecturing to corresponding with scholars all over the world — led to the growth of the institute. "He was a great letter writer," said Dien.

Gabow also contributed articles regularly to Points East, the institute's newsletter.

In addition to his wife and son Steven, a Mill Valley resident, he is survived by daughter Beth of San Francisco and three grandchildren.

Contributions honoring Gabow can be made to the Albert L. Schultz Jewish Community Center, 655 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306, where a Leo Gabow Memorial Lectureship is in the development stages.