Dr. Gary G. Kardos died on April 15, 2011 from lung cancer at the age of 74. He leaves behind his beloved wife of 50 years, Zeeva, his two loving daughters, Dr. Leslie Kardos and Kate Kardos-Polevoi, his four granddaughters, Danielle, Lexie, Sofia and Sasha, his two son-in-laws, Dr. Steven K. Polevoi and Mr. Miguel Barron and his sister Judy Martin of Los Angeles.

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Dr. Kardos grew up in Beverly Hills where he attended Beverly Hills High School and later received his BA in Zoology and Philosophy from UCLA. A resident of San Francisco since 1958, Dr. Kardos attended UCSF Medical School where he also completed his internship, residency and chief residency. After two years of military duty as a Captain in the Vietnam War, he returned to San Francisco in 1968 where he began the practice of Internal Medicine and Nephrology at Franklin Hospital, (now known as the Davies Campus of CPMC) where remained in private practice until December of 2001. During these years, Dr. Kardos worked with Dr. Frank Gotch in the first public dialysis unit at SFGH and the first private Northern California Hemodialysis unit at Franklin Hospital where he was Associate Director of the Dialysis Unit from 1980 to 1997.

Dr. Kardos was active in both local and state medical affairs and served on many medical committees. He was chief of staff at Davies Medical Center from 1986 to 1987 where he chaired many committees including the Institutional Review Board, Accreditation Committee, Credentials Committee and Utilization Committee. Dr. Kardos was also a member of the San Francisco Medical Society where he was on the By Laws Committee, Ethics Committee, Board of Directors and served as Vice-Chairman of the Hospital Medical Staff Section. Dr. Kardos has been a member of the Clinical Faculty at UCSF since 1967 where he remained an active teacher to both the house staff and medical students. In 2002, Dr. Kardos became a Clinical Professor at UCSF where he worked as a part-time nephrology attending in the Division of Nephrology. In 2005 he became a Clinical Professor, Emeritus and continued to work as a part-time Nephrology attending at the VA Hospital where he remained until his diagnosis in December of 2010.

Dr. Kardos was most happy teaching the art, craft and science of the clinical practice of Nephrology to his fellows.  His love of clinical medicine and unrelenting dedication to each patient and his own ethical standards were well known to those who had the fortune of working with him.

Dr. Kardos will forever be remembered as a devoted husband, father, grandfather, father-in-law and brother. He was a dedicated patron of both the San Francisco Symphony and A.C.T. and loved to travel with his wife. Dr. Kardos was also an avid reader, writer, amateur photographer, computer enthusiast, master gourmand and chef. He especially loved cooking for his family every Sunday night where they came to enjoy wonderful food and lasting memories. Dr. Kardos’ self-published cookbook, “Cooking With the Doctor,” was his most recent accomplishment.

Funeral services were held at Congregational Emanu-El at 2 Lake Street in San Francisco.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to support the Gary Kardos, MD Clinical Training and Education Fund in the UCSF Division of Nephrology.  Please send checks made payable to the UCSF Foundation c/o Kevin McAteer, UCSF Foundation, Box 0248, San Francisco CA 94143-0248.

The family also is making available Dr. Kardos’ self-published cookbook: “Cooking With the Doctor,” which includes highlights of his classic Sunday evening meals. If you are interested in also purchasing a book, please contact Kevin McAteer, [email protected] or (415) 312-2036.

Alice Gisella Lazar Kessler. Beloved mother, grandmother, sister, friend and aunt to many, Alice passed peacefully at her home on April 14, 2011 at age 90. Born on November 26, 1920 in Fiume, Italy, her family immigrated to the USA during the tumultuous pre-World War II days, arriving in New York in 1930. She later relocated to Southern California and it was there that she met the love of her life, Leslie, her husband of 56 years. In 1950, they moved to Piedmont, where they raised their two sons, Randy and Gary.

Alice was a true daughter of Israel and the Jewish people and was always actively involved in charitable work, mainly for the Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Foundation of the East Bay.

She also possessed a spirited life of adventure, and with Leslie she would travel Europe and explored many exotic locales. Alice was a social “firefly,” her personality always burned bright and commanded attention wherever she went.

She is survived by her two children, Randall E. Kessler (Jan) and Gary A. Kessler (Sonia); her two grandchildren Gina Kessler and Andrew Kessler, her older brother, Albert Lazar and many nieces and nephews. Donations may be made in her memory to the L & A Kessler Family Foundation, 300 Grand Ave., Oakland, CA 94610, or to Temple Beth Abraham, for the Centennial Fund, 336 Euclid Ave., Oakland, CA 94610.

Services were held under the direction of Sinai Memorial Chapel, (925) 962-3636

Morton Isaac Levinson. A founder and principal of Levinson Bros. Insurance, died suddenly at his Hillsborough home of a massive heart attack on Friday April 15, 2011.

Mort is survived by Barbara Levinson, his loving wife of 55 years. He is survived by his three children Kate Van Zanten (Mark), Daniel Levinson (Nora) and Elise Horwich; and his two brothers, Fred (Marlene), Jon (Diane), sister-in-law Lenore (David, deceased), brother-in-law Ron Israel (Linda) and many nieces and nephews. He is survived by his grandchildren, that he loved so very much, Lauren Cohen, Sarah Van Zanten, Alana Van Zanten, Jeremy Horwich, Katie Barrett and Kacey Barrett.

One of the defining moments of Mort’s life was, at the age of 17, serving as the youngest American volunteer in Israel’s War of Independence.

In the U.S. Army he was stationed in Paris, France where he met his wife, Barbara, a teacher at the U.S. Air Force base in Chatauroux. He graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1954 with a degree in agriculture. He was active at Peninsula Temple Shalom and Congregation Beth Am, where he enjoyed participating in weekly services. He served as a Peninsula Temple Sholom board member and was an active leader in the Saturday morning Minyan. He enjoyed working as a volunteer, in costume, at San Francisco Opera productions.

Mort also served on the San Mateo County Grand Jury as a Deputy Sheriff. In retirement, Mort was a participant of Sons in Retirement and a peer counselor with Family Services of San Mateo County. He enjoyed playing tennis, gardening, traveling and reading but most of all he enjoyed spending time with his family and friends. Mort loved his family and he loved his friends. He was a man of deep conviction and that is how he led his life.

Mort will be remembered as a generous man of integrity and a loving heart.

There was a memorial service, Sunday April 17, at Peninsula Temple Sholom in Burlingame. If you would like to make a donation in Mort’s name, the family suggests Peninsula Temple Sholom, Congregation Beth

Am or Magen David Adom.

Ingrid Weinberg of Castro Valley died February 17, 2011, at age 89. She was an active member of Congregation Shir Ami since its founding.

She is survived by children Debora Antonoff of Atlanta and Susan Andersson of Sweden, and four grandchildren. Her husband of 45 years, Rolf J. Weinberg, passed away in 1999.

Funeral services were held February 21 at Chapel of the Chimes, Hayward.

Donations may be made to Congregation Shir Ami, Castro Valley.

Bennett Jules Woll

We have lost the happy, brilliant and loving presence of Bennett Jules Woll, who passed away peacefully on Shabbat, April 16, 2011.

Bennett was a deeply loved father, brother, uncle, husband and friend. He enhanced the lives of all who loved him.

He was born in 1938 and grew up in New York’s Bronx, part of a brilliant and vibrant Russian Jewish family. He was accepted to the Bronx High School of Science, then earned Physics and Mathematics degrees from the Univ. of Vermont. He worked as a Physicist and later moved to Israel working as a rocket scientist. In the early 1960s he returned to the U.S., working in a family business then moving into commercial real estate development.

In 1976 he chose to live in San Francisco, CA, where he spent the happiest years of his life. In 1984 Bennett married his true love, Robin Winburn. Together they embraced families and friends, studied and celebrated with Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, shared adventures and travels in many countries, and developed a deeply loving, ever-increasing bond.

Bennett had great depth and breadth of knowledge in many fields and he was happy to share it. He was a passionate, thoughtful man, and a committed Jew who delighted in Jewish history and practice.

He loved life, finding pleasure in every day. He approached every event, even cancer treatments, as the next adventure to be experienced. He was a Mensan, a sailor, a train enthusiast, a Giants fan, a member of Beth Israel Judea, and a bright soul who looked at possibilities, not limits. He gained the love and admiration of good people.

He enriched the lives of his sorrowing and loving family: his wife, Robin Winburn-Woll, son Ilan Woll, daughter Dena (David) Raminick and their sons, Noah and Shelby. He also leaves his brother, Robert (Monika) Woll, nephew Ronald (Tammy) Woll, niece Wendy (Bill Binenstock) Woll, four grand-nieces, his aunt Alice, and many cousins.

Funeral services for Bennett were held at Gan Yarok, in Forever Fernwood Cemetery, 301 Tennessee Valley Rd, Mill Valley (www.foreverfernwood.com/memory/cemetary.html). Shiva is Friday, April 22, from 12 to 6 p.m. at his S.F. home.

In lieu of flowers, he would be honored by donations to the Nevada Northern Railroad Museum (www.nevadanorthernrailway.net) the Jewish Community High School of the Bay (www.jchsofthebay.org) or the Lisa Kampner Hebrew Academy (www.hebrewacademy.com).