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William Henry Green

Born April 9, 1923, passed away on June 7, 2014. He is survived by his loving wife Frances of 65 years, three children, Louise Marsh (Dick), David Green (Pat) and Florence Marchick (Steve); seven grandchildren, Allison, Stefanie, Kimberlee, Emilee, Daniella, Kathryn and Michael; three great-grandchildren, Gavin, Bodie and Ozlo; and sister Marion Euphrat.

Bill served as a Captain in the Army in World War II, was owner of Parsons, a chain of optical stores in the Bay Area, and was a generous supporter of a variety of organizations. His easy-going style, subtle wit and companionship will be missed.

A celebration of his life will be held at Lake Merced Country Club on Sunday, June 15 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Bill requested that charitable donations be sent to That Man May See at UCSF or a charity of your choice.

Sinai Memorial Chapel (650) 369-3636

Paul E. Kay

Paul passed away peacefully on May 16, 2014, at age 91. Beloved husband of Dorrit Kay for 67 years, devoted son of the late Grete and Max Kutnewsky, and loving brother of the late John Kutner.

Born in Berlin, Germany, on April 5, 1923, Paul was a Holocaust Survivor. In 1939, when he was 16, he and his mother escaped Germany and went to Shanghai, China. There he met his future wife, Dorrit Weiser. They got married in 1947 and came to San Francisco in 1948. Paul worked for American President Lines for over 20 years and later worked for Atari in Sunnyvale until his retirement in 1988. Paul enjoyed reading, playing chess, and listening to classical music and opera.

Paul will be greatly missed and remembered with much love by all who knew him.

Private funeral services were held at Eternal Home Cemetery in Colma. Donations in his memory may be made to Jewish Home, 302 Silver Ave., San Francisco, CA 94112.

Sinai Memorial Chapel (415) 921-3636

Jerrie M. Meadows

Died peacefully at her home in Emeryville on May 29, 2014. Jerrie Michael Silverstone was born in 1925 to Herschel and Sonya Silverstone, Jewish socialist atheists from whom she inherited her deep faith in the perfectibility of humanity. Her first cause was opposition to fascism in Spain. She often said that she grew up believing that if she sang “No Pasarán” often enough the Loyalists would be victorious, and she lived her life believing that if we marched, picketed, boycotted, demonstrated and sang loud enough and often enough we could change the world.

Though Jerrie wasn’t religious, her life was the embodiment of the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, “healing the world.” Jerrie married Harold Yanow in 1946 and had two children, Susan and Danny. She raised them on Potrero Hill, where she found herself part of a strong community of like-minded people. Though she later moved to Berkeley, she was a San Francisco girl at heart.

Jerrie married Allen J. Meadows in 1965. Their home became a community gathering and meeting place. Jerrie held several jobs as secretary and office administrator to unions, notably the ILWU, NABET and CNA. In the 1960s, Jerrie became involved in the civil rights movement, worked as the office manager for the Congress of Racial Equality and was arrested during the sit-ins at the Cadillac Agency and the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

Jerrie Meadows being carried off to jail at a protest outside the Palace Hotel in 1964

She served two weeks in San Francisco County Jail along with many of her friends as a result of this action. Among the many causes she held dear was the struggle to end the war in Vietnam and justice for people of all races; in later years her focus was reproductive freedom for women. She worked as an escort to help women seeking services at abortion clinics and served long terms on several boards, including the California Women’s Political Caucus, CARAL, and the Access Fund. She was involved in countless political campaigns, running offices, working the phone banks, walking precincts. Her last major campaign was the ’08 election, when she helped elect the first African American president; the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

Passionate about people and new experiences, Jerrie was an avid traveler. Growing up visiting Mexico with her mother, Jerrie brought her children to Mexico several times when they were young, and they caught the travel bug, too. As a peace delegate to Stockholm, Sweden in 1970, as a delegate to the Beijing Women’s Forum in 1995, and as a tourist, throughout her life she visited dozens of countries on all six inhabited continents; she enjoyed meeting people, seeing natural beauty and buying local crafts. She loved traveling with her children, traveling with Susan in South America and Europe, and with Danny through France, Spain and Portugal. In later years she took many trips with Elder Hostel, which allowed her to study other cultures as she traveled. She was the perfect grandmother to Danny and Anne’s children, Lucy and Hannah, with whom she took many unforgettable trips.

She is survived by her husband Allen Meadows, daughter Susan Yanow (Philip Sego), son Daniel Yanow (Anne), beloved grandaughters Lucy Yanow and Hannah Yanow. A celebration of Jerrie’s life will be held July 19; contact a family member for details. Her ashes will be interred alongside those of her parents at Hills of Eternity Cemetery in Colma. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Access Women’s Health Justice Fund or the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House Youth Fund.