Stephen B. Aizenberg

1944–2014

Stephen B. Aizenberg passed away tragically on July 17, 2014, near his home in Leeds, Utah. Born April 25, 1944, in San Francisco, he was a beloved family patriarch and respected businessman who dedicated his life to family, community, philanthropy and faith. A cherished father to three sons and a daughter, Stephen doted on his young grandchildren. He will forever be etched in our hearts as a generous man who lived life with zeal. He had a lifelong passion for aviation, logging many hours flying a fixed-wing airplane and earning his helicopter pilot’s license.

He attended Lowell High School and graduated from the University of the Pacific in Stockton in 1966 with a B.A. in business and economics. He has left an indelible legacy in California and Nevada from his esteemed 35-year career as a real estate developer, broker and general contractor. He improved communities and lives through building facilities, including a synagogue, two private schools, a community center and a senior facility. Stephen is survived by sisters Beverly (Herb) Konkoff and Carol (Harry) Loew; children Michele (Shervin) Ansari, Mark (Debbie) Aizenberg, Sam Aizenberg and David Aizenberg; and grandchildren Madelyn, Nathan and Benjamin Aizenberg.

His family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in his memory to Shalom School of Sacramento, 2320 Sierra Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95825, (916) 485-4151, or to the Israel Emergency Campaign at the Sacramento Jewish Federation, 2130 21st St., Sacramento, CA 95818, 916-486-0906, www.jewishsac.org/israelemergencycampaign.

Edith Morgan

1920–2014

Edith Morgan, a resilient woman of glamour and warmth, died on July 20 at Mills-Peninsula Hospital in Burlingame after a brief illness. She was 93.

The youngest of five children born to Rose and Bernard Herskovits in Szomotor, Czechoslovakia, Edith, like many of her generation, had her youth ripped away as the Nazis marched through Europe. Staying one step ahead of them, she fled in a harrowing journey through occupied France, Spain and finally Portugal, sailing for the United States in 1941. Her parents and two of her sisters also emigrated, but her older sister died in the Holocaust and her brother was killed in the chaos following the war. She never forgot them.

Settling in Chicago, she met the love of her life, fellow Czech Morrie Morgan. They married in 1944 and moved to Modesto, where Morrie entered the produce business and where their two sons, Richard, now a physician in Burlingame, and Michael, an attorney in Seattle, were born. In 1955, the family moved to Beverly Hills and became active members of the Greater Los Angeles Jewish community.

Edith’s full-time career was mother, homemaker and hostess, and she excelled at all three — no one could make a more delicate blintz or a more robust chicken paprikash. After Morrie died in 1973, she continued an active social life as well as volunteering for a number of causes. She enjoyed getting to know people and took special pride in being able to connect with her children’s friends as well as her peers.

Seven years ago, she moved to a senior residence in San Mateo to be closer to family. They remained her main interest, especially her four grandchildren — Melissa (Marty) of Mercer Island, Wash.; Todd (Wendy) of Ann Arbor, Mich.; Daniel of Tel Aviv; and Joanna of San Francisco. She was devoted to them, as they to her — and to the end, she would surprise them with her insightful comments about their lives and loves. They survive her, as do her sons and her daughters-in-law Miriam (Richard) and Linda (Michael); her great-grandchildren Ariella, Sasha, Oliver and Jacob; her sister Violet (Iby) Mainzer of Chicago; her stepbrother-in-law Tibor Roch (Margo) of Encino; and her many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews around the country.

Funeral services were held on July 24 in Los Angeles. Donations in Edith’s memory can be made to the Mills-Peninsula Hospital Foundation, 1501 Trousdale Drive, Suite 300, Burlingame, CA 94010; Peninsula Temple Beth El, 1700 Alameda de las Pulgas, San Mateo, CA 94403; or the Kline Galland Center, 1200 University St., Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98101.

Laurence Raymond Stein, age 85, a lifelong San Francisco resident, classical music aficionado, dedicated Freemason and pharmacist, passed away peacefully on July 18.

Born March 22, 1929, to Harold Stein Sr., and Jessie Koch Stein, Larry attended Washington High School and U.C. Berkeley, receiving a bachelor of science degree from UCSF. After practicing the family profession of pharmacy in his early career, he parlayed his passion for and knowledge of classical music into a second career in the 1970s-’80s at KKHI, first as the radio station’s music librarian, then music director and ultimately program director, where he enjoyed interviewing visiting artists on the air and presiding over the station’s renowned live San Francisco Symphony marathons and opera broadcasts. A 33-degree Mason, he devoted his later years as the stage director and assistant secretary at California Scottish Rite Masonic Temple.

Ever a wag, voracious reader, student of philosophy, spiritualism and the arts, Larry — along with his unique imagination and inimitable cackle — will be deeply missed by his family, including his brother Harold S. Stein Jr., sister-in-law Vera Stein, niece Deborah Hoffman (Craig), nephew Peter L. Stein (Brian Freeman), grandniece Jessia Hoffman, grandnephew Gabriel Hoffman, and numerous extended family and associates. Services will be private; donations may be made to Jewish Family and Children’s Services, 2150 Post St., San Francisco, CA 94115, or to a charity of choice.