Sign up for Weekday J and get the latest on what's happening in the Jewish Bay Area.

Shirley Targoff passed away peacefully at age 94 on Jan. 14, 2017. Born in New York on April 22, 1922, she married her lifelong love, Walter Targoff, in December 1944. She was a devoted wife for 63 years. A graduate of Brooklyn College, she lived in New York, Baltimore, and Buffalo before moving to California in 1961.

Shirley is survived by her daughter, Claire Davis (James), and son, Don Targoff (Marcy). She was also a proud grandmother of six: Jonathan Davis, Jeffrey Davis (Deborah), Jessica Mills (Brandon), Allison Targoff, Steven Targoff and Eric Targoff, and took great delight in her great-grandson, Jacob Davis. Shirley was kind, attentive, selfless, comforting, and always in a pleasant mood. She loved to cook, making wonderful desserts, and showed great love and patience making sprinkle cookies with her grandchildren.

Shirley was active in the League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women. She studied art later in life and was a docent at the L.A. County Museum of Art for over 25 years. She loved watching and attending sporting events and became an avid golfer after moving to California.

Laid to rest beside her beloved Walter, they will be united forever.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Congregation Sherith Israel. The family wishes to extend their gratitude to the staff and caregivers at the Sequoias–San Francisco for their wonderful, attentive care.

Sinai Memorial Chapel

(415) 921-3636

 

Sidney Tuchman

July 28, 1924–Jan. 7, 2017

Sidney (Sid) Tuchman passed away peacefully at his San Francisco home on Jan. 7, 2017, at age 92. He lived in Indianapolis, Indiana, until 1988 when he and his wife Charlene began splitting their time between there and San Francisco.

Erudite and witty, Sid was a true sweetheart who will long be remembered for simply being a remarkable, one-of-a kind man. He made each and every person he met feel special because he knew how to listen and to connect from the heart. He dressed with great flair and in only the finest clothes. He loved to gather friends and family around his Steinway grand piano to play and sing Broadway show tunes. With an infectious smile every day of his life, it felt great just to be around him.

Sid grew up in a home with his parents, who emigrated from Poland in the early 1900s, and four siblings. As the youngest in the family, he was his mother’s favorite — or so he thought. His favorite childhood memory is of his mother waiting for him every single day on the front stoop of their home as he returned from school.

During World War II, Sid served in the United States Army. After receiving specialized training, he was assigned to the signal corps as a cryptologist in Oahu, Hawaii. His chief responsibility was to translate and break secret enemy codes.

Sid Tuchman met his wife, Charlene, on a blind date one Saturday, and they were engaged a week later. This past May, they celebrated 61 years of happiness together and raised three children, each of whom are happily married and together have seven grandchildren. He loved to vacation with his entire clan and particularly enjoyed the Tuchman Family Olympics when grandparents, parents and grandchildren separated into teams to compete in various games.

Although Sid felt his greatest accomplishment was his family, he also was a proud businessman. He built Tuchman Cleaners from his father’s one-room tailor shop into one of the largest cleaning organizations in America with 35 operating plants and stores, an industrial uniform plant, and a suede and leather service covering five states. When Tuchman Cleaners was sold in 1982, it had become a household name in Indianapolis, Indiana.

While in business, Sid loved helping, mentoring and making an impact on others’ lives. He helped his employees in various ways whether putting their children through college or assisting with house down payments, or supporting them in times of need. And he made it a point to know all of the families of his employees and even calling their children by name.

After he sold Tuchman Cleaners, instead of retiring, he founded Tuchman Training Systems, a consultancy that mentored small businesses across the United States. In 2011, at 86 years old, he accepted the highest honor given by the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute — the “Diamond Achievement Award.”

He volunteered his time and monetarily supported many organizations throughout his lifetime. He was president of the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation and vice-president of the Better Business Bureau and the Jewish Community Federation of Indianapolis. Sid served on many boards including the YMCA, Girl Scouts of America, Salvation Army, the Johnson Group Inc., Jewish Vocational Service of San Francisco, the Borns Jewish Studies Program at Indiana University, and others. Sid Tuchman and his wife were the recipients of the Spirit of Life Award, presented to them by the City of Hope, and they launched the Sid and Charlene Campership Fund through the San Francisco Jewish Community Foundation.

He is survived by his wife, Charlene, and family: Mitch Tuchman and his wife, Daren, and their children Jack, Leo and Lucy of Menlo Park, CA; Ellen Tuchman Rothmann and her husband, John, and their children Samuel and Joel of San Francisco, CA; and Kathy Tuchman Glass and her husband, Mike, and their children Marshall and Kimmie of Woodside, CA.

A memorial service was held on Jan. 11 at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco. A memorial celebratory service will be held this summer in Indianapolis, IN. The family requests that memorial donations be made to Jewish Vocational Service, 225 Bush St., Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94104, or the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation Foundation, 6501 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46260, which Sid had the foresight to begin in 1976 during his tenure as President.