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Obituaries are supported by a generous grant from Sinai Memorial Chapel.

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Carolyn Koestel

Nov. 3, 1946–Sept. 28, 2022

Carolyn was born in November 1946 in Mandeville, Louisiana, to Beatrice Glass and Laurence Paul Algeo. She grew up in Mandeville, Miami and Atlanta.

In Atlanta, she was active in the civil rights movement, working with SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) in the 1960s. After a cross was lit on their lawn, her mother sent her to finish her education in Colorado.

She and her daughter Anne spent three years living and traveling in Asia. After returning to the U.S., she raised her daughter Anne and her son Max in Bolinas. She went to College of Marin, earning a BS in nursing at San Francisco State. She worked as a visiting nurse in San Francisco, then as an RN and RN Quality Liaison at Kaiser S.F., until she retired.

She was active in the CNA (California Nurses Association). She believed in what CNA was doing, and was a steady picketer during strikes. She joined the union bargaining team to work for the best conditions for nurses and the best care for patients.

Carolyn enjoyed reading, watching BBC dramas, theater and the out-of-doors: hiking, camping, backpacking and skiing. Sometimes, this led to remarkable adventures. On one hike in Yosemite Valley, she and friends were caught in a snowstorm that dumped inches of snow on the trails! This was late July in the summer! The Ansel Adams Gallery in the valley was playing “let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.” She loved Yosemite, especially the high country, and each year she went there with friends and family and camped at White Wolf Campground, off Highway 120 and enjoyed hiking in the area.

She loved Israel, and spent much of her energy in Israeli folk dancing, studying Hebrew and visiting Israel. In 2014, she spent six weeks in Jerusalem at the Conservative yeshiva’s Ulpan. At the time Israel was being shelled by rockets from Gaza. Once, when walking to the central shuk in Jerusalem, air raid sirens sounded and she had to find shelter.  She followed the crowd down into a basement – it was the basement of a bank and she was next to the vault!  After a few minutes she came out and saw smoke in the air where the Iron Dome had just destroyed a rocket from Gaza.

She and her husband Jerry visited Israel several times together. She had visited Israel with Max years earlier.  On the way to/from Israel, they sometimes stopped in New York to see Broadway plays, e.g. Sutton Foster in “Anything Goes” and Audra McDonald in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.”

The center of her life was her family and friends.  They will miss her.

She passed away on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, after battling cancer (multiple myeloma) for several years.

Carolyn leaves behind her husband, Jerry Berkman; her daughter, Anne Forrest, and Anne’s children, Sarah, Sophia and Joseph; her son Max Webber, and his children, Anton, age 6, and Leonie, age 2; her sister Kathy Phillips; and her Yorkie, Charlie. One of Carolyn’s greatest regrets was she was not well enough to travel and never met granddaughter Leonie in person.

Carolyn was buried Oct. 5, 2022, at Home of Eternity Jewish Cemetery, Oakland. Donations in her memory may be made to Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, to Planned Parenthood, or to your favorite charity.

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Herb Lakritz

Sept. 2, 1936–Oct. 17, 2022

Herb was a beloved husband to Joyce for 56 years, father to Randy (Julie), Barry (Stacey), Geoff (Irene),  Grandpa (“Buddy, “Pappy”) to Reece, Remy, Madison, Casey, Haley and Hailey, and brother, to Al (Judy).

He took great pride in his family, loved the business he created and all the employees who helped him. Herb started his career as a CPA, preparing individual tax returns and corporate audits. He was President of Novato Toyota from 1983 until he retired from illness in 2019. He has fought valiantly with Alzheimer’s disease and finally succumbed.

His other passion besides family and business was Cal Berkeley. He graduated in 1957 after coming to the U.S. in 1950 from France. He and his brother Al were hidden during World War II and were able to come to Oakland, California, with their mother. He joyfully attended Cal football and basketball games with his family and was a proud sponsor of the Cal Bears. He loved golf and tennis. He taught us all how to work and play hard and to love. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

A celebration of life will be held in the future.

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Lisle Warren Payne

Sept. 1, 1942–Oct. 12, 2022

Lisle W. Payne, beloved husband, father, mentor, coach, and businessman, passed away on Oct. 12, 2022, at Stanford Hospital after a seven-week courageous battle against rare blood cancer and disorders.

Son of Lisle Dean Payne and Erna Katherine (née Warren) Payne, Lisle was born in Des Moines, Iowa. A proud graduate of Roosevelt High School, where he was class president. Lisle left his hometown to go to the University of Arizona, where he belonged to the Sigma Chi fraternity and was elected Beta Phi consul in his senior year. Sigma Chi was a leader in the fraternity system at the university, including athletics, academics and student government. Lisle was active in many of the UA men’s honorary societies (Sophos, Chain Gang and Bobcats). Over his lifetime, Lisle continued to be active in the chapter in many ways — helping to create a new house, on the board of the Beta Phi Educational Foundation and a member of the Beta Phi Hall of Honor. Earlier this year, Lisle was honored by being named a Significant Sig, one of the fraternity’s highest honors. Lisle just loved his brothers.

After graduating from the University of Arizona in 1964, Lisle entered the MBA program at the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating with an MBA, he pursued a very successful career in real estate, starting the Fox Group, where he was Chief Executive Officer of this national real estate firm. Along with his wife, Roslyn, Lisle taught for several years at the Haas School of Business. Endowing the Lisle and Roslyn Payne Chair in Real Estate Capital Markets, they are “Builders of Berkeley.”

Throughout his career, Lisle demonstrated leadership in the real estate industry at the national, state and local levels: board of directors for the Real Estate Securities and Syndication Institutes, chair of the board of directors for the California Housing Council, and a member of the Real Estate Investment Committee to the Corporations Commission of California. Lisle and Roslyn were early members of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at Berkeley.

Lisle had a strong commitment to education and youth. He served on the University of Arizona Eller College of Management Board of Advisors and received well-deserved recognition as the Eller Alumnus of the Year in 2011. In Northern California, he was on the boards of San Francisco Day School (K-8) and St. Ignatius College Preparatory (9-12). For Cal, he was on the board of the University of California Berkeley Foundation, which financially and strategically supports the university.

What Lisle loved the most was being a volunteer basketball and baseball coach at San Francisco Recreation and Parks’ Hamilton Recreation Center, coaching his sons Matt and Drew and their friends. The recognition of the importance of sports for many children led Lisle to join the board of the Positive Coaching Alliance, where he served for many years.

Curiosity was a core characteristic of Lisle. As a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization, Lisle enjoyed the combination of learning about different industries and meeting friends from around the globe. He was the chair of the Golden Gate Chapter in Northern California, and a driving force in the Financial Forum, and beloved “moderator” of the Delta Forum.

He was always ready to travel around the world, and visited over 80 countries with Roslyn — they always traveled with friends and made new friends at every stop. Lisle also was an avid fisherman, and he fished in both saltwater and freshwater, taking his sons every year on an adventure. Prior to his hospitalization, they had been fishing for tarpon in Mexico, where Lisle caught a tarpon with a fly.

Lisle was an extraordinary man with the biggest heart. A favorite saying from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.” This was Lisle Payne.

Lisle was devoted to his wife of 48-plus years, Roslyn, his sons Matthew and Andrew, and a special mentee, Jermekio Barlow. He is survived by his sister Kate Ridenour and his nieces, Heather and Rachael, his brother David (Carol) and brother Tom (Kathy).

A private funeral was held at Home of Eternity Cemetery, Piedmont, CA, led by Rabbi Beth Singer, Congregation Emanu-El.

Sinai Memorial
(415) 921-3636

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Beverley Weinberger

Jan. 19, 1938–Oct. 19, 2022

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Beverley was preceded in death by her parents, David and Sarah Paley. In her youth she loved to figure skate and read. To escape the harsh winters of her native Winnipeg, she left home at age 20 and moved to San Francisco. An only child, she was married to the late Robert F. Weinberger, Esq., an only child himself, and the love of her life for over 50 years. The family eventually bought a home in the Westlake neighborhood of Daly City.

Beverley is survived by sons Mark and Brad (Jessica), and was the world’s best bubbie to grandson Zachary — the light of her life.

After deciding that she wanted to be more than a homemaker, Beverley went to work for Kaiser Permanente of San Francisco; after a 26-year career, she retired as lead medical secretary.

Besides family, her passions included reading, movies, chocolate and “retail therapy”; she was the consummate consumer, doing her part to keep the local economy afloat, and could spot a bargain a mile away. Her nickname at work was “Bargain Bev!”

Despite being plagued with several degenerative and terminal ailments, she persevered as best she could. The family would like to thank Home Sweet Home and her primary in-home caregiver, Eden Chancoco, for her dedication and devotion to our mother.

Beverley was a devoted and beloved wife, mother and grandmother, and will be deeply missed by her family and close circle of friends. She will forever be in our hearts.

Private services were held at Home of Peace Cemetery in Colma, followed by burial at Salem Memorial Park. Donations may be made to the American Heart Association, American Lung Association or Jewish National Fund.

Sinai Memorial
(415) 921-3636

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Morton Neril

Dr. Morton Neril passed away on Nov. 4, 2021 and was buried in Jerusalem. He was 81. A native of Brooklyn, N.Y. and a resident of the Bay Area for 42 years, and a physician for 58 years, he served as director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the former Children’s Hospital of San Francisco. He was also on the staff at John Muir Hospital in Concord and had a private practice. He saw the good in the world and lived with positivity and joy. His love for people was one of his defining qualities.

He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Marilyn, four children — Michael (Victoria), Adam (Chaya-Dova), Yonatan (Shana) and Rebecca (Yeshaya David) — and eight grandchildren.

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Paul Tandler

Sept. 2, 1925–Oct. 12, 2022

Paul Tandler passed away peacefully in his Tiburon, CA home in the company of his loving family. Paul was a great man, admired by all, and he will be dearly missed.

Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1925, Paul was the son of Rudolph and Jenny Tandler. Paul’s parents and his wife Iris preceded him in death. Paul is survived by his loving family, sons Bob (Valli), Alan (Cynthia) and Jon (Susan) Tandler, and his grandchildren Michelle, Jaclyn, Jeffrey (Kristen), Danielle, (Josh), Ryan, Ari, Talia, and his great-grandchildren Audrey, Marisa, Madeline and Nicholas.

A young Paul and his parents fled Austria to escape horrific religious persecution. With no possessions other than the clothes they wore, they incredibly made their way to St. Louis, MO. They made new friends and settled in to begin their new life with freedom for all in America.

Paul had to grow up quickly in his new surroundings. He learned his way, becoming a model student and U.S. citizen. He eventually graduated from Washington University with a degree in engineering, served in the U.S. military and at a dance, met Iris, the girl who would be the love of his life. They married, embarking on a 71-year journey together, raising three boisterous boys.

Paul made every day count as he advanced his professional career, served as an elected official in his community and along with Iris, took very good care of his family. As the Patriarch, there was nothing more important to Paul than his family. His family knew this and loved him dearly.

After 45 years in the copper industry with one company, Paul retired as Vice President of Environmental Affairs. Never idle, Paul decided to pen his thoughts and authored a two-volume autobiography about his amazing life. He served on the College of Marin board and as a neighborhood trustee.

Paul was a true gentleman, known and highly respected for his broad intellect, humility, humor and compassion. He liked traveling and enjoyed corresponding with friends globally. He took numerous photos of his trips with Iris and categorized albums and slides for showing and narrating to family and friends. Paul loved opera, was a voracious reader, was well versed on most any topic and was a very accomplished bridge player.

Paul’s accomplishments in life were vast and he created an enviable legacy. Paul has been an inspiration and enriched the lives of everyone who knew him.

The Tandler family wishes to extend their sincere gratitude and appreciation to his caregivers, Alexandra and Josefina, who have been like angels for Paul, as they were for Iris and the extraordinary nurses from By the Bay Health.

Paul’s life was celebrated with a family gathering at his graveside and shiva in accordance with Jewish tradition and custom. Donations in his memory may be made to By the Bay Health (Larkspur CA), HIAS and/or the Technion in Israel.

Sinai Memorial
(415) 921-3636