Bob Kupor passed away at home in Berkeley, California, on Aug. 8, 2015, from complications of leukemia.

Born in 1946, Bob grew up in a crowded Brooklyn apartment but always sought the pleasures of the outdoors — as an adult he moved west and settled in Seattle and Berkeley. An extraordinary student, Bob graduated from Brooklyn College and went on to earn a Ph.D. in microbiology from Harvard and an MBA from the University of Washington. His passion for science, fostered by a childhood reading of Paul de Kruif’s “Microbe Hunters,” led him to become a professor at the University of Tennessee and later an analyst in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

He was a voracious reader on many subjects who could not only remember every detail of what he read but also synthesize and distill vast bodies of knowledge. In retirement he converted one of his interests into a book — “Jesus the Misunderstood Jew”—which called upon a lifetime of reading in history, culture and religion to reconsider the narrative of the Gospels.

From his youngest years he developed a passion for opera and classical music, idiosyncratic childhood tastes that he kept and refined throughout his life. In addition to music, he was passionate about coffee, cooking, bicycling and the New York Times. He was also loved for his quick wit and dry sense of humor.

He was especially devoted to his family. He met his wife, Sara, on a blind date in 1967 (they saw the Beatles movie “Help”). They married several years later and raised three daughters together. Exploring the great outdoors with his family, advising his daughters, reading to his granddaughter, reminiscing with his sister, tossing the ball to his dog — these were among his greatest joys.

Bob is survived by his wife, Sara; siblings Susan and Lary; daughters Devra, Elana, and Daniella; sons-in-law Leif and Jay; and granddaughter Raina.

Donations in Bob’s honor can be made to the Sierra Club Foundation and the American Red Cross. Zichrono l’vracha, may his memory be a blessing.

Mary M. Mehdy, very beloved and “self-sacrificing” mother of David S. Mehdy and aunt to numerous nieces and nephews here in the United States and overseas, passed away on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015 at Saint Mary’s Hospital in San Francisco of heart failure. She came to the United States in 1946 from Iran and married Abraham Mehdy in 1947. She was the most caring and devoted mother a son could ever have, especially in his time of needs. She was always willing to sacrifice for other people. She loved children and always treated any child she knew with love and respect. She worked in the accounting department at Emporium Capwell in San Francisco and retired from there in 1992. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends but much, much more by her son David S. Mehdy. All donations in her name should be made to the American Heart Association. Thank you.

Sinai Memorial Chapel

(415)921-3636