Sherie R. Greenberg

Beloved mother of Morisa Guy and Stephanie Edelman passed away peacefully in the morning of June 25 at the age of 79. She was a 37-year survivor of metastatic breast cancer.

Born in Allentown, Pa., Sherie was a resident of Palo Alto for the last 51 years. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Boston University.

A long time member of Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills, Sherie saw her daughters married by close family friend Rabbi Sidney Akselrad (z”l). Both daughters are current members of that congregation.

Sherie’s passion was for the game of bridge. As a teacher and club owner, she taught hundreds of people in the community the strategies of bidding and card play while developing herself into a national bridge champion and an Emerald Life Master. With the popularity of the Internet, Sherie became adept at playing online and increased her reach of teaching and playing around the world. She continued this into the final days of her life.

Sherie always loved to travel, especially to her favorite destination, Israel. Her unwavering support of Israel and determination to help eradicate cancer led her to the Weizmann Institute of Science, where she became actively involved in fund raising for cancer research. As a board member in 1994, Sherie was honored with an award in appreciation of her leadership.

Sherie was also always available to provide emotional support to those diagnosed with cancer. She convinced them they, too, could fight the disease and “live.”

As Sherie’s long-time oncologist, Frank Stockdale, reminded her daughters, she was fortunate in that she “enjoyed an independent, long and full life. She took great pride in her children and their families. And while more limited in recent times, she remained fiercely in control of her life and life’s decisions. Her approach is something we should all try to emulate.”

Sherie was preceded in death by her devoted husband, David, in 2007. She is survived by her daughters Morisa Guy (Amir), Stephanie Edelman (Jeff), her grandchildren Cameron and Drew and her sister Edythe Bloom of Connecticut.

A service for friends and family was held Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science, 300 Montgomery St., Suite 615, San Francisco, CA 94104.

Eva Linker

December 22, 1922—July 12, 2011

Eva Babette Linker (née Straus) passed away on July 12, 2011 at the age of 88. She is survived by Henry Linker, her husband of 63 years; by her children Anita, Fred (Mary Fran Miller), Sherry, Debby (Christopher Howe), Larry, and Joel; and her grandchildren Rachel, Warren, Elizabeth, Amy, and Cindy. We will all miss her very much.

Eva was born in Karlsruhe, Germany, on Dec. 22, 1922 to Friedrich and Edith Straus, a prominent German-Jewish family. She was the youngest of five children. Friedrich Straus owned the Badische Bank. Eva’s older brothers, Werner and Irwin, and her older sister, Ilse, were already out of the country when the Nazis came to power in the 1930s. Eva later wrote about the persecution she suffered as one of the few Jewish students remaining in the German schools. Eventually her brother Irwin persuaded the family remaining in Germany to leave the country. Eva, her parents, and her older sister, Gerda, went to Switzerland. They left just before Kristallnacht, during which Jewish businesses in Germany were destroyed in a single night and many Jewish men were arrested. From Switzerland the family traveled to Europe, finally immigrating to the United States by ship. They arrived in New York in 1936 on Eva’s 16th birthday.

The family reunited with Eva’s older siblings. Eva and Gerda moved with their parents to San Francisco and then to Berkeley, where Eva attended Berkeley High School. She later earned her nursing degree at the University of Seattle, as well as a certificate in public health nursing.

Eva met Henry Linker at the University of California, Berkeley, and they married on Aug. 16, 1948. They lived in Santa Maria, Calif., for a few years, where their two eldest children were born; then moved back to the Bay Area, where the four younger children were born, and where Henry started his optometry practice. Henry and Eva were members of Temple Beth Hillel in Richmond since 1953. Eva served as president of the temple sisterhood.

Eva continued to work as a public health nurse during her marriage. She was active in the Richmond Red Cross for many years; teaching baby care classes and doing blood pressure screening for senior citizens. She managed the nurse’s station during public events and worked in a shelter for homeless people following the 1989 earthquake. She was awarded the Clara Barton Award for her dedication.

Eva was also active in the League of Women Voters and in the California Autism Foundation. Having loved rowing since childhood, she was an active member of the Oakland Women’s Rowing Association for seven years.

Eva loved the opera and frequently worked as an usher at the San Francisco Opera. She used her artistic abilities in stitchery, flower arranging, and calligraphy. She wrote poetry and many short stories. Her family’s experiences in Nazi Germany influenced her writing and compelled her to tell her stories of what happened to the German Jews. She knew about the harm caused by hatred and bigotry first-hand, and participated in organizations concerned with social action.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in Eva’s memory to the West County Adult Day Care/Alzheimer’s Respite Center, or to Temple Beth Hillel of Richmond, CA.

Greta Livingston died peacefully in her home on July 9, 2011, 13 days shy of her 106th birthday. Gracious, warm and memorable to all who knew her over the course of her remarkable life, Greta possessed a unique combination of compassion, quiet determination, elegance and wit that won her admirers at every stage of her journey.

Born July 22, 1905 in Wuppertal-Elberfeld, Germany, to Emma and Hermann Stern, Greta grew up in an assimilated Jewish community and trained to be a kindergarten teacher; she married Eric Livingston (then Erich Loewenstein), also from Elberfeld, in 1925, with daughters Doris and Vera soon to follow.

On Kristallnacht, the family home was ransacked and Eric was sent to Dachau concentration camp; in part due to Greta’s persistent appeals to authorities, and the fact that the family already had secured American visas, Eric was released and the family quickly immigrated to the United States in January 1939.

Settling in San Francisco, Greta at first helped support her family as a babysitter, and improved her English by going to the movies. After becoming an American citizen, she dedicated her time to raising her family, assisting in Eric’s business (Crane Pest Control), keeping an impeccable and welcoming home, and to charitable efforts including Jewish National Fund, HIAS and Shaare Zedek. A love of travel brought the couple frequently to Lake Tahoe, Carmel, Palm Springs, and Greta’s beloved Swiss Alps, often with several younger generations in tow; they returned on occasion to Elberfeld to visit the family graves for which Greta kept responsibility for much of her life. An avid bridge player, anagram solver and reader, she claimed to detest public speaking (deferring to her voluble husband), but her pithy and well-timed ripostes frequently brought down the house. For her remarkable longevity Greta was known to credit good genes, and the occasional caviar and cognac.

Greta was predeceased by her husband Eric in 1998, after an extraordinary 73 years of marriage; and by her brother, Ken Stern. She leaves her daughters Doris Livingston Grasshoff and Vera Stein and son-in-law Harold Stein, Jr. of San Francisco; sister-in-law Margot Stern of Guernsey, England; grandchildren Leslie Simon, Lynne Simon, Deborah Hoffman (Craig Hoffman) and Peter Livingston Stein (Brian Freeman); and great-grandchildren Jessia Emily Hoffman, Adrienne Simon Krichman, Gabriel Dylan Hoffman and Portia Simon Krichman. Her many friends and relatives across the world, as well as her devoted team of caregivers in San Francisco, will miss her warmth and generosity, epitomized by her catchphrase, “Now, what can I do for you?”

Private services were held July 12, and a memorial celebration of her life will be conducted at a later date. Donations may be made to Jewish Family & Children’s Services of San Francisco, or to a charity of the donor’s choice.

Donald Isaac Magnin

Born November 17, 1926 in San Francisco, Donald Isaac Magnin passed away at home on Wednesday, July 13 after a brave battle against cancer.

The eldest child of Anna and Cyril Magnin, Donald attended Grant Junior High School, Lowell High School (’44) and Stanford University (’49). He served in the Merchant Marines in the Pacific from 1944-1945 and in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He married Elaine Hochfeld on June 15, 1952. They remained married for 48 years until her death in 2001. Donald began his career as a teenager in the mailroom of the family business, Joseph Magnin, the San Francisco-based retailer of women’s fashion founded by his grandfather in 1915 and was Executive Vice President, General Merchandise Manager when the company was sold in 1969. After a short stint with the new owners, he left and founded Domain, an importer of specialty gift items, where he worked until he retired in 1995. Donald served 21 years on the San Francisco Parking Authority, 13 years as its chairman. The Performing Arts Garage is dedicated to his years of service. An avid dominos playing member of the Concordia Argonaut Club for over 60 years, he served as President from 1971-1973. As a lifelong supporter of the San Francisco Art Institute, he served on the Board of Trustees and was also its Treasurer from 1982-1985.

Donald is survived by his siblings Ellen Magnin Newman, husband Walter (San Francisco), Jerry Magnin, wife Lois (Beverly Hills); his son Jeff (Berkeley) and daughters Ann, husband Michael Stein (Norwalk, CT) and Susan Magnin Greinetz, husband Alan, (San Francisco) and grandchildren Elena and Emma Stein and Rachel, Sam and Andrew Greinetz.

Funeral services were held on Sunday,

July 17 at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco followed by interment at Hills of Eternity Memorial Park in Colma.

Memorial contributions may be made to the University of California-San Francisco Foundation, comprehensive Cancer Center, P.O. Box 45339, San Francisco, CA 94145-0339 or the San Francisco Art Institute, 800 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA 94133.

Hillel Narin

With deep regret we announce the passing of “Hillie” Narin. Beloved son, brother, uncle and friend to many. To those who knew “Hillie”, no amount of words can express his kindness, concern for others, and devotion to his family.

Curtis Shore passed away peacefully in San Francisco on July 17, 2011 at age 91. Beloved husband of Eva Shore for 59 years; loving father of Linda Shore; adored son of the late Regina Schlochauer. Born in Berlin, Germany, Curtis was a Holocaust survivor, escaping Germany in 1939 and living as a refugee in Shanghai, China. For most of his life, he was an art importer, working at the San Francisco Merchandise Mart. His passions were fishing, soccer, baseball, and his family. Donations to Congregation B’nai Emunah in San Francisco preferred.