Irwin Bear, in Burlingame, on October 23 at age 77.

Beloved husband of Ann Bear for 21 years; loving father of Howard (Juli) Bear and Wendy Bear and beloved step-father of Rick (Lori) Landgarten, Mike (Stephanie) Landgarten, Sue (Michael) Pearson; adoring grandfather of Rachel and Sarah Bear, Noah, Joshua and Maren Landgarten, and Isabel and Zachary Pearson; dear brother of Jerry Bear.

Irwin was born in Brooklyn, New York, and moved to San Francisco in 1957, following service as a medical corpsman in the Air Force. Capitalizing on his experience as a sales rep in the textile industry, Irwin built a successful textile manufacturing and distribution business. P & B Fabrics became a premier supplier of quilting fabrics around the world, an important resource to independent quilt shops, and a donor of tens of thousands of yards of fabric to groups making quilts for people in need. Irwin was a long time board member of the Home Sewing Association, and spearheaded the “Sew for the Cure” campaign to raise one million dollars for breast cancer research. P & B Fabrics published the “Sew With Stars” quilt book and donated the proceeds to the cause. In 2001 Irwin received the Michael Kile Award, the highest honor in the quilting industry. Irwin also served on the board of the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles.

Irwin was deeply committed to serving the Jewish community. Along with Ann, he was a member of Peninsula Temple Sholom in Burlingame. Irwin traveled to Israel for the first time in 1971 on a Jewish Community Federation mission and returned almost a dozen times. He was active in many local and national Jewish communal organizations as well as in the pro-Israel community. Irwin was the immediate past-president of Hillel of San Francisco. He was president of the United Jewish Community Centers and of the Peninsula Jewish Community Center as well as a national board member of the Jewish Community Center Association. Irwin was also the immediate past chairman of the Friends of Israel Political Action Committee (FIPAC), and a longtime board member of the Northwest Regional Board of AIPAC. In addition he served on the boards of the Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School, the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Holocaust Center of Northern California, Jewish Vocational Service and Congregation Beth Jacob in Redwood City. Irwin was also a longtime supporter of the Jewish Community Federation, who set an example as a generous donor, passionate solicitor and active volunteer. He held leadership positions on numerous committees and was a member of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund’s Living Legacy Society. Irwin often quipped that the best thing he ever did for the Jewish Community was marrying Ann and luring her here.

Irwin was a graduate of San Francisco State University, and was an avid 49ers fan. He held season tickets for 40 years and attended all the Super Bowls in which the Niners competed.

Memorial service will be held at Peninsula Temple Sholom at 1655 Sebastian Drive at 2 p.m. on Oct. 31. Shiva will be at 1406 Drake Ave. in Burlingame on Monday Nov. 1, 7 p.m., as well as the following Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the same time.

Funeral services were held on Wednesday Oct. 27 at 12:45 p.m. at Sinai Chapels, Fresh Meadows, N.Y. 11365 with interment at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Glendale, N.Y.

Donations in Irwin’s memory may be made to San Francisco Hillel in support of The Irwin Bear Endowment for Jewish Campus Life, 33 Banbury Drive, S.F., CA 94132, (415) 333-4922.

Bessie Gabow passed on October 18, 2010, at 93 years of age.

Bess was born in New York into a very close family, the youngest of five sisters. At the age of 20 she and her husband Leo, hitchhiked across the country to live in San Francisco. Over the next several years all her sisters and their husbands moved to the Bay Area.

An indomitable spirit, Bessie was active politically and socially her entire life. She was a committed socialist and humanitarian, an active member of the Jewish Community, and she founded the Food Closet, a community organization that provides food to the needy. She was a strong supporter of Israel and developed many lifelong friendships during her many trips to the Middle East.

She was an avid reader, a published poet, and she played a mean game of poker. One of her life long passions was experiencing other cultures. In the late 1950s she and her family lived in Hong Kong for three years, and over the decades she and her husband traveled to well over 100 countries.

Most important to her was her family: her husband Leo of 61 years, her son Steve (Jeannette), her daughter Beth, her three grandchildren, David, Jacob (Anna) and Shana, and her three great grandchildren, Aurora, Luna and Estrella. Her four sisters, their husbands and their children and grandchildren were just as important to her. Her family home was the place where they all gathered on weekends to eat, laugh and argue.

Bessie will be remembered for her generous spirit, her desire to help others, her warmth, and her compassion. She loved people and people loved her and she will be greatly missed.

Donations in her memory can be made to the Senior Department of the Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto.

Henry Heinz Fuhs, of Cotati, on October 21, 2010 at age 87.

Beloved husband of Mary Esther Fuhs for 39 years; loving father of Sandy (David) Shepler and Larry (Sharon) Fuhs and step-father of Kathryn (James) Bernasconi and Debra Marie (Kirk) Hunter; adoring grandfather of Sarah, Daniel, Rebecca, Casey and Rachel and great-grandfather of Dylan and Kayla; dear brother of Anne (Henry) Steinberg and uncle to several nieces and nephews.

Henry was born in Germany, and was a Holocaust survivor who fled to Shanghai, where he lived for 10 years before coming to San Francisco. Henry’s favorite hobby was his model railroad. He was also an active member of his community, including being on the Board of Directors for the Marin/Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District. Henry was honored with the Presidential Service Award for his many volunteer hours in various organizations. He made many friends along the way and will be greatly missed by both friends and family.

Funeral services were held at Eternal Home Cemetery Chapel, 1051 El Camino Real, Colma, CA. Donations to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW Washington, DC 20024-2126, (202) 488-0400, preferred.

Norma Kane, beloved wife, mother and bubby, died Saturday, October 23, 2010 of lung cancer.

Norma was born to Louis and Ida Barnett on May 23, 1926. She was very close to her four siblings Ruth, Harry, Bernard and Eudice. Always fascinated by health and medicine, Norma earned a degree from the Beth Israel Hospital School of Nursing and was head nurse on several medical units at New York’s Beth Israel Medical Center from 1948-1951.

In 1949 Norma married Murray Kane and in 1951, she gave birth to a daughter, Leslie. In 1955 Norma and Murray moved to Detroit where their sons, Scott and Jay, were born. In 1959 Norma and her family settled in Dayton, Ohio, where she became a member of all three of the city’s synagogues. She was the librarian at Beth Abraham synagogue. Norma was an active member of the PTA and was a room mother many times over. She chaired Super Sunday for the women’s division of UJA in 1990 and served two terms as president of the Dayton chapter of Hadassah during the 1980s and 1990s. Norma also worked for the American Red Cross teaching courses on illness, injury and infant childcare.

Norma was a wonderful cook and gracious hostess who threw unforgettable brunches and dinner parties. She loved to travel, visiting Europe, South America and Asia; she made several missions and trips to Israel. In 1997 Norma and Murray moved to Emeryville, California to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

In California, Norma volunteered for JF&CS of the East Bay and was a member of the Watergate Condominium Association Remodeling Committee. Norma was incredibly warm, loving and endlessly good-natured. She was unfailingly compassionate and was genuinely interested in every person she met. She is survived by her husband, Murray, her sister Ruth, her daughter Leslie and son-in-law Manny, her son Scott and daughter-in-law Wendy, her son Jay and grandchildren Nomi, Ben and Shmulik. She will be deeply missed.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that contributions be made to the following nonprofits: Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the East Bay 2484 Shattuck Ave., Suite 210, Berkeley, CA 94704, www.jfcs-eastbay.org/donate/donate; National Lung Cancer Partnership, 222 N. Midvale Blvd., Suite 6, Madison, WI 53705, www.nationallungcancerpartnership.org/index.cfm?page=donate.

Franciska Weinberg

Beloved mother and grandmother, cherished friend and dedicated physician, passed away peacefully on October 24, 2010. She was 86 years old. Born on July 9, 1924 in Lodz, Poland to Max and Gustava Herzberg.

Throughout her life, Franciska demonstrated a commitment to achieving her dreams, offering compassion to others, and living life with gratitude. A Holocaust survivor, during WWII she escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto, helped the Polish Partisans translate communications from London, and was ultimately, deported to a labor camp. She began her medical studies at Poznan University in Poland and later immigrated to Israel in 1950 to complete her medical studies at Jerusalem University, specializing in pediatrics and anesthesiology. In Israel, she met her beloved husband Kurt Weinberg and together they enjoyed 40 years of marriage. She and Kurt relocated to London, then New York, and settled in San Francisco in 1961. For the last 23 years of Franciska’s career, she practiced medicine at the Student Health Center of San Francisco State University. She had a deep love of the visual and performing arts, and exploring new cultures through extensive travel throughout the world.

She is remembered lovingly by her children Andrew Weinberg and Sharon Weinberg, her daughter-in-law Lynn Offenhartz, and her grandchildren Elana Olson, Elijah Olson, and Rachel Weinberg, and friends.

Services and burial were held at Home of Peace Cemetery on Oct. 27, 2010.

Sinai Memorial Chapel