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Deaths for the week of Feb. 2, 2018

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Rose Belzer

February 20, 1919–January 9, 2018

Rose Belzer
Rose Belzer

Rose Davidson Belzer died one month shy of her 99th birthday. Rose was born in Chicago the seventh of 11 children. Rose and her late husband, Mort, were longtime residents of Oakland, where Mort ran East Bay Prescription Pharmacy. Mort’s personality and Rose’s keen business mind made it a success.

Rose was always active in the Jewish community, usually serving as president of every organization she belonged to. Her proudest achievement was the building of the Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living in Danville. She worked tirelessly on fundraising and even became involved in the kitchen and menu design. She was given the honor of carrying the Torah when Reutlinger opened.

Rose loved cooking, reading and her regular mahjong and Pan games which she played until her death. She loved her Rossmoor community where she moved after Mort’s death in 1993. She had many friends there both old and new.

She is survived by her son Robert (Jennifer) and daughter Doreen Warshal (Billy). Predeceased by her son Steven (Lynn). Four beloved grandchildren, Jason Belzer (Sarah), Mara Belzer, Jesse Warshal (Alison), Simon Warshal, and four great-grandsons.

Donations in her memory can be made to the Reutlinger Community, 4000 Camino Tassajara, Danville, CA 94506.


Stanley H. Fetterman

March 29, 1934–January 26, 2018

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Stanley H. Fetterman

Our dearest husband and father, Stanley Herbert Fetterman, passed away early morning Friday, January 26, 2018, at the age of 83. Our hearts are broken, as we have lost the kindest, most gentle, caring soul.

Stan was a devoted and caring husband, father, grandfather and friend. He had a sweet and gentle nature and was always willing to lend a hand. He was often smiling and interested in knowing more about his friends and their families. He was a loyal friend and continued to see his school-age friends throughout his life.

People were drawn to Stan for his warmth and sincerity. He was a simple, mellow and sensitive person who will be sorely missed by those who loved him.

A native San Franciscan, Stan grew up in the Sunset and attended Lawton Elementary School, Presidio Junior High and Lincoln High (class of 1952). He attended Stanford University, and after serving in the Army medical core in Puerto Rico, he graduated from San Francisco State University as an accomplished accountant.

Stan was an avid baseball fan and ace pitcher while at Lincoln. He was given a baseball scholarship to Stanford University and was then drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates. While he did not pursue a baseball career, he did work as an accountant for various companies, most importantly family businesses with his brother Charles.

Stan is survived by his devoted wife, Wendie; his children Janine (spouse Grant) and Kevin; granddaughter Audrey; brother Charles (Chuck) (spouse Lesley), nieces and nephew Heidy Feinberg, Jeff Fetterman, Natasha Terk and Lisa Buchanan; and many cousins and lifelong friends.

We’d like to thank our amazing, loving and devoted caregivers, Mesake Laiseni and his family. Your family are angels.

Funeral services were held at Eternal Home Cemetery.

The family suggests donations to the Alzheimer’s Association (alzfdn.org) or your local blood bank.

Stan, we love you and will always miss you.

(Sinai Redwood City)


Leon S. Fish, of San Francisco and Palm Desert, passed away Sunday, January 28, 2018. Beloved husband of the late Zena, Leon is survived by his three daughters Renee (Barry) Gordon, Barbara (Michael) Shenson and Andrea (Patrick) Bradley; his grandchildren Jessica, Danielle, Alexander, Nicholas, Connor and Nora; his brothers Mathews and Sanford; and his sister Deanna Jackman.

Born in Stockton, Leon graduated from University of California, Berkeley, and enjoyed a long career in public accountancy in San Francisco. Leon was an avid baseball player, golfer and water-skier and loved life, his family and friends to the fullest. Private services have been held.

(Sinai Redwood City)


The world lost an extraordinary human being when Dr. Moses Grossman, Misha, passed away this week.

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Dr. Moses Grossman

Born in Kiev to Gregory and Klara Grossman, Misha and his parents fled the persecution of Jews in the Soviet Union and took refuge in Harbin, China. He then left his parents and brother Lusia in 1941 to immigrate to the United States and attend UC Berkeley, along with his cousin and best friend Gregory Grossman. After UC Berkeley, Misha went to UCSF for medical school under the U.S. Army’s Berry Plan — the first noncitizen to do so. Under the guidance of his mentor, Dr. Mary Olney, he decided to do his internship in pediatrics at UCSF. He then served with the U.S. Army for two years, after which he entered residency at NYU Bellevue Hospital in New York City.

He met Verle Anne Campbell, the love of his life, as a nurse on the Bellevue pediatric ward and enticed her to move to San Francisco, marry and raise a family. He thrived at UCSF for the whole of his career, serving as a faculty member in the UCSF Department of Pediatrics. He held many leadership positions in the department and in the School of Medicine, including Professor and Chief of Pediatrics for 30 years at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH), Vice-Chair and Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases for UCSF Department of Pediatrics, and Associate Dean for the UCSF School of Medicine.

As Chief of Pediatrics for SFGH, he oversaw the clinical care of the city’s most vulnerable children and trained generations of pediatric residents and future pediatric leaders. He and Verle embraced his colleagues and trainees as family and graciously welcomed them into their home on a regular basis. Of his many roles, he was proudest of his work as a healer, teacher and mentor.

Misha also was a passionate advocate for the well-being of children in the Bay Area and California. He was the founder of the San Francisco Child Abuse Council and the first Chair of the California AIDS Leadership Committee on Pediatric and Perinatal AIDS. He was also the co-founder of the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation. For his service to the community and UCSF, he received the UCSF Medal in 2001.

Misha cherished his large and loving family. His home was a haven for children and grandchildren alike, and he delighted in telling stories of his early days in China. He and Verle traveled the world and explored San Francisco’s finest restaurants. When Verle developed Alzheimer’s disease, he became an extraordinary caregiver. He loved to read, and at the age of 94, he started a book club that met at his home.

The family would like to thank his caregivers for all they did to keep Misha comfortable at home. We also thank his many dear friends, who nurtured and loved him in myriad ways. We deeply appreciate his geriatric care provided by the UCSF Care at Home’s Housecalls Program.

Misha is survived by his beloved children and their spouses: Deborah Grossman Garber & Jonathan Garber; Pam Grossman & David Kahn; David Grossman & Cezanne Garcia; and Danny Grossman & Linda Gerard; and by his devoted grandchildren and their partners: Ben & Rachel, Ilana & Olivia, Rebecca & Sam, Miriam, Rachel, Naomi, Sarah, Noah and Jonah.

Misha’s legacy will live on through the children he helped, the medical students he taught, the residents he trained, the policies and institutions he created, and most of all, in the memories of all who loved him.

Memorial donations may be made to the Moses and Verle Grossman Fund for Children’s Health at San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, PO Box 410836, San Francisco, CA 94141. www.sfghf.org/donate.

(Sinai SF)


Mildred Goldfarb Mogulof (March 11, 1932–January 27, 2018)

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y. Daughter of Sophie and David Goldfarb, dear friend and wife of Mel for 61 years, mother of Dena Fishbein (husband Dan) and son Dan. Grandmother of David, Rachel, Lisa and Evan. Sister of Robert (wife Beth Uffner).

Graduate of Brooklyn College, University of Pennsylvania, and graduate program in Community Mental Health at UC Berkeley. Author of “Hitler’s Jewish Olympian: The Story of Helene Mayer.” Medical Social Worker at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital in London and at UCSF hospital. Supervisor of students, Baerwald School of Social Work, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Community Mental Health worker for the County of Marin. Partner with Alice Liff, Gallery 3, Marin County. Tutor of Russian Jewish immigrants and of academics from China and Japan at Berkeley YWCA. Donor of reconstructed children’s library at the Progressive School in Tel Aviv in honor of her parents. Co-founder of the Mogulof Family Chair in Social Policy at Tel Aviv University and of Mogulof Family Scholarship Fund at UC Berkeley. Hiker, skier, tennis player, arts collector and pianist. A committed and caring Jew. A life well-lived by a complex and extraordinary woman.


Mildred Levy Rothschild passed away Jan. 21. She is survived by her daughter Joanne Friedman (Bruce), grandchildren David Friedman (Nicole) and Sarah Papoff (Alexander), and great-granddaughter Sydney Papoff. She was preceded in death by her husband Leonard.

Mildred was born in Merced in 1921. She trained as a nurse and volunteered for many years at the California Pacific Breast Health Center. A devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, she will be remembered for her quiet leadership, strong will, independence, and love for entertaining and creating joy. She will be missed by her family and friends.

Private services were held. Donations in Mildred’s memory may be made to the CPMC Breast Health Center or Hospice by the Bay.


Edith Wellisch

Our beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother passed away on January 26, 2018, two days after her 92nd birthday.

Edith was born and raised in Czechoslovakia. She and her older sister were the only ones in their family to survive the Holocaust. Although she wasn’t allowed to complete high school, Edith worked as a nurse in a hospital after the war, where she met her future husband, Eugen. He was recovering from a broken leg, suffered in a professional soccer match. Eugen’s soccer career took him and Edith to Italy, France and Belgium before they immigrated to the United States with their two young children. Edith spoke multiple languages and adapted to each location by creating a loving and stable home. Eugen and Edith finally realized their dream of living in San Francisco, where their two youngest children were born.

We will always be grateful to our matriarch for setting an unwavering standard of loving, unselfish support and moral guidance. Her attitude toward life, and how to face its challenges, are the legacy we will strive to honor by teaching such to the generations that follow.

Edith is preceded in death by her husband, Eugen, and eldest daughter, Veronica. She is survived by her children, Nicolas (Rose Ferreira), Nancy Searcy (Ralph) and Judy Wellisch (Ramon Balagot), six grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

Services were held at Eternal Home Cemetery in Colma on Jan. 29. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum or an animal welfare charity.

(Sinai SF)