Weddings
Sandra (Sandy) Bassman Speier (81) and Aaron Marcus (80) are to be married at Congregation Beth Israel Sept. 4, 2023. Rabbi Yonatan Cohen will officiate and Aaron’s cousin’s daughter, Jennifer Ellis, will play the harp for the ceremony. Aaron and Sandy attended the same Omaha Central High School 62 years ago but never met then and didn’t know each other. However, Aaron drew illustrations of trucks for Sandy’s future first husband and included Sandy’s name in theater production brochures that he designed.
They met on JDate by good fortune in 2016. When Aaron said he was from the Midwest, Sandy was a bit skeptical at first, but when he mentioned Omaha and Central, she said, “Oh, I went there, too!” It turned out they knew many people in common but had never met! On their first “coffee date,” they met at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA), where Aaron’s work was being shown in an exhibit, “From Typeface to Interface,” using materials that he had donated to SFMoMA.
Sandy taught school and was a librarian in Washington, D.C. for many years until she retired early. Aaron taught at UC Berkeley and elsewhere for decades and founded his own design firm in 1982. They plan to reside in Berkeley, where Aaron has lived since 1979, in the same house since 1982.
B’nai Mitzvahs
Emme Altman
Daughter of Ramona and Mark Altman, Saturday, Sept. 2, at Congregation B’nai Shalom in Walnut Creek.
Jacob Philip Brill
Son of Stephanie and Elliott Brill, Saturday, Sept. 9, at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills.
Ezra Dahan
Son of Jackie and Omri Dahan, Saturday, Sept. 2, at Beth Jacob Congregation in Oakland.
Jonah Dahan
Son of Jackie and Omri Dahan, Saturday, Sept. 2, at Beth Jacob Congregation in Oakland.
Emiko Kuniyoshi
Daughter of Fionna and Jeremy Kuniyoshi, Saturday, Sept. 2, at Congregation B’nai Tikvah in Walnut Creek.
Jules Erica Rabinowitz
Daughter of Sarah Sandford-Smith and Rudy Gonzalez, and Jason Rabinowitz and Dion Zizak, Saturday, Sept. 2, at Temple Sinai in Oakland.
Elizabeth Rudd
Daughter of Jessica Rudd, Saturday, Sept. 9, at Temple Isaiah in Lafayette.
Elliot Levi Sweet
Son of Aurora and Sam Sweet, Saturday, Sept. 2, at Temple Isaiah in Lafayette.