Obituaries are supported by a generous grant from Sinai Memorial Chapel.
Harry Cohn
May 27, 1929–Nov. 22, 2025
Harry Cohn, 96, passed away peacefully surrounded by the family he cherished above all else.
Harry was born on May 27, 1929, in West Germany. He was separated from his parents, Ludwig Cohn and Else Cohen Cohn, and his sister Lottie during WW2, and lived in a Belgian orphanage for a year and a half before reuniting with them in Holland. They took the last ship before the Nazis invaded and came to America in 1940, where they built a better life for their family and the generations to follow.
Harry was known for his loving and generous spirit. He spent his long life showing up for others – with kindness, with patience, and with a quiet strength that made people feel safe and cared for. Family was truly everything to him, and he never missed an opportunity to offer support, a warm hug, or a gentle word of encouragement.
His first love, Barbara, danced through life with him, bore his children, and supported him and the family with a great love of travel and the arts. They both valued and were actively engaged in Tikkun Olam: to repair and improve the world. Harry served on the boards of Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Jewish Vocational Services, and the Contemporary Jewish Museum.
After Barbara passed, Judy and he shared a wonderful second love and indulged their passions for art, good food and world travel. While continuing their pursuit of Tikkun Olam, together they enjoyed treating the family to many wild and fun adventures, and with Lottie hosted many memorable family celebrations. She cared for him dearly as he came to the end of his life.
Harry worked for 40 years at Levi Strauss & Co., where he was respected for his dedication and strong work ethic. He made lasting friendships there and carried those connections with him throughout his life.
A quintessential American success story, at the age of 15, Harry began his career at Levi Strauss & Co. by wrapping packages for the summer. After graduating from Lowell High School, he returned to the company and never left, becoming a self-taught apparel business executive who ultimately became a member of the Board of Directors, a Corporate Vice President, and the President of the Menswear Division.
Despite his seemingly gruff exterior, and a voice that could be heard down the hall without a telephone, he was seen by many as a “father figure” with tender attitudes towards those who worked for him.
Former President, CEO and Chairman of the Board Robert Haas described him as the “Godfather of Menswear.” He was respected for embodying the Levi traditions of quality, integrity and caring about people, as well as having a superb intuitive grasp of peoples’ capabilities and the apparel industry.
He is survived by his devoted wife, Judy Pickard Siegel Cohn; his children, Debbie Diestler (Dennis), Steve Cohn, and Julie Cohn (Michael Chadwick); his stepchildren, David Siegel (Caroline), Sandra Clayton (Joe), and Marci Siegel-Kittrell (Jon); his sister, Lottie Miklos; grandchildren Adam Diestler (Robbie), Brian Diestler, and Abby (Phil) Rodriguez; great-grandchildren Evan, Wesley, Preston, Noah, Luke, Lucy and Elliana; and nephews David Miklos (Janice) and Robert Miklos; who brought him endless pride and joy.
Harry passed away on November 22, 2025. His memory will be held close by all who loved him, and his lifelong example of warmth, generosity, and devotion to family will continue to shine through the generations he leaves behind.
If you wish, in lieu of flowers, kindly remember Harry with a donation to the SF JFCS “Harry Cohn Family Endowment Fund for Emigre Services.”
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Jeffrey A. Diamond
Dec. 1, 1960–Dec. 18, 2025
Jeffrey A. Diamond, 65, of Great Barrington, MA, passed away December 18, 2025, after a 16-year struggle with early onset Parkinson’s Disease. Jeff is a 4th-generation San Franciscan, predeceased by his parents, Minnette (Langfelder) and Donald Diamond.
A graduate of Menlo-Atherton High School, the University of the Pacific and California Institute of the Arts, Jeff was theater set designer and worked for the LA Opera Company before moving to art directing and other film industry jobs. Later in life he became a digital media consultant and also ran a successful real estate business with his family.
Jeff is survived by his wife, Diane Pearlman, their two sons, Jake and Matthew, his sister, Sheri Ginis (Diamond), and his nieces, Abbie Ginis and Eliana Ginis.
If you wish to make a contribution in his memory please consider the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Kenneth M. Glatt
May 25, 1943–Dec. 6, 2025
Dr. Ken Glatt died at the age of 82 in Poughkeepsie, New York. He was born in San Francisco’s Sunset District. He earned his B.A. at U.C. Berkeley (class of 1965) where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. Further studies in psychology included a Masters from the University of Minnesota and a PhD from NYU. In 1979 Dr. Glatt became the Dutchess County Commissioner of Mental Hygiene. After retiring in 2015, he maintained his private practice. Ken is survived by his beloved wife of over 20 years, Joan (Huergo) Micucci Glatt, his daughter Laura Glatt-Miliambro and her husband Shane, two stepsons, and numerous grandchildren. Donations in his memory may be made to St. Jude’s.
Ruth Ellen Haber
Ruth Ellen (née Weber) Haber passed away peacefully on January 10th in Castro Valley, California.
Ruth was born in 1937 in Dallas, Texas, the youngest of three children of Irvin and Ethel Weber. The young family relocated to Los Angeles a few years later where Ruth attended Los Angeles City High School as an outstanding student with a very active social life. She followed her two brothers north to UC Berkeley as an undergrad, where she met and married the love of her life, Sanford (“Sandy”) Haber in 1955.
Together Ruth and Sandy raised their family around the greater Bay Area (Berkeley, San Lorenzo, Salinas, Millbrae). Ruth was an active volunteer in synagogue and youth activities wherever the family was located, including many years in Girl Scouts. When her youngest child started first grade, Ruth resumed her interrupted undergrad studies, eventually completing her BA and MA degrees in Speech Communications. She became a lecturer at San Francisco State University and at the University of San Francisco until moving from her career in academia to business-oriented positions.
Tragedy struck when Sandy was diagnosed with melanoma. During his battle, the couple’s love and mutual support only grew stronger until his eventual passing in 1980. Ruth remained strong during this difficult period, but forged ahead with the love and support of family and friends.
When time came to downsize the family home, Ruth relocated back to the East Bay and proximity to old friends, eventually winding up at Baywood Court Senior Living where she once again was very involved in community affairs. In recent years she wound down her activities as her physical stamina deteriorated.
Ruth leaves three children: Chava Haber (David Thaler), Rochelle Haber-Loeffler and Jim Haber, as well as four grandchildren, Shai, Yona, Aubrey and Eamon, and great-grandson, Sasha. She also embraced the children of Shelly’s husband as her grandchildren, Monika and Christina Loeffler, and Christina’s daughter Solea as her great-grandchild.
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Lois Finger Heisler
May 4, 1930–Jan. 12, 2026
Heisler, Lois Finger, a longtime Peninsula resident of Foster City, passed away on Monday, January 12, 2026. A generous, devoted, loving wife, mother and “Nana.” Lois’ concern for her family always came first, she loved to cater to their needs. Bright, articulate, caring, friendly, and always willing to help either family or friend. Truly a woman of quality, compassion and high personal standards. We are all fortunate that she has touched our lives.
Adored wife of Sanford I. Heisler, loving Mother of (Dr.) Mark, Paul, and Joel Nadler. Loving Stepmother of Barry (deceased), Jim and Cheryl Heisler. Mother-in-law of Debbie (deceased), Cheryl, Debbie Ann, Suzanne Nadler & Cyd and Wyn Heisler. “Nana” to Rachael (John Quinton), Aaron (Danielle Nadler), Jennifer (John Read), Joshua (Goeun Lee), Brett (Shelly Nadler), Zachary (Rachelle Palkovsky), Stephanie (Brent McNamee), Emily Nadler, and Jason Heisler. Great-Grandmother of 19 and one more due February 2026. Sister of the late Marcia Sholkin of Florida.
Lois is a graduate of Lowell High School; she was previously active at Congregation Beth Israel-Judea, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, PTA, Cancer Society and a Sequoia Senior Services volunteer, as well as a member of Peninsula Temple Beth El.
Lois’ interests were especially with her family and friends. She particularly adored time spent with her children and “grandies.” Her garden and love of butterflies was always a major source of pleasure to her.
A memorial service was held at Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo on Jan. 15, with private inurnment at Salem Memorial Park, Colma, at a later date.
Donations to a charity of your choice; Peninsula Temple Beth El; or Hebrew Free Loan– Sanford and Lois Heisler Testimonial Student Loan Fund, 131 Steuart St., Suite 520, SF CA 94105.
Richard Keith Hopper
Jan. 30, 1941–Nov. 8, 2025
Richard died at home with his wife, Marlene, by his side. He was born in Princeton, Illinois, son of Henrietta and Vance Hopper. Richard is survived by his wife, Marlene Gilbert Hopper, his son, Christopher Hopper, and his sister, Barbara Maves. With his first wife, Katie, who passed away in 2000, he had two children, his son, Christopher, 54, and daughter, Elizabeth, who died at age 26.
Richard graduated from University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He served in the U.S. Navy as a Lieutenant in the Civil Engineering Corps. Following active duty in Guam, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and lived in Foster City since 1971.
Richard’s first job in 1971 was with the City of San Mateo, and he retired 56 years later after 43 years as a consulting engineer and 13 years in municipal engineering, including 5 years as Director of Public Works for the City of Foster City.
His career had him designing dams, pump stations, roads, water facilities and hundreds of traffic signals and traffic facilities. In 1974 he designed and implemented the municipal transit system for the City of San Mateo, later to be absorbed into the San Mateo County Transit District, known today as SamTrans.
Married to Marlene on August 18, 2002, they had a wonderful, loving marriage. Serving with many organizations, he enjoyed Foster City Village, which opened in 2013. He had a wonderful time helping to build the Foster City Village, with him as Treasurer and Marlene as Membership Chair.
Richard was a voracious reader. After he retired, he discovered “Substack,” a writers’ venue, and he had time for his favorite hobby which was a love of trains, specifically steam trains.
Richard was born Lutheran but also embraced Judaism when he married Marlene. An active member of Peninsula Temple Sholom, he loved attending services and listening to the music, especially on Friday nights. Richard is now in heaven with his beloved daughter Elizabeth. May he rest in peace.
Donations in Richard’s memory can be made to Foster City Village and to Peninsula Temple Sholom, Burlingame.
Paul Kadden
March 26, 1925–Jan. 7, 2026
Paul Kadden died on January 7 at 100. Born in Krefeld, Germany, to Fred and Hilda Kadden, they emigrated to the U.S. in the mid-1930s due to rising antisemitism. They settled in Columbia, Pennsylvania, and then Philadelphia, where Paul became a Bar Mitzvah, before moving to San Francisco.
Paul graduated from Washington High School at 16 as valedictorian but did not attend the ceremony because German nationals were not permitted out in the evening. He graduated UC Berkeley at 19, Phi Beta Kappa.
Paul became a CPA, working for most of his career as comptroller and vice president for Service Distributors, a coin-operated laundry company.
Paul met Shirley Hertzberg, also a Cal student, at a party and they married in 1953, spending 67 loving years together. They had three children: Bruce (Barbara of blessed memory; Leslie Birnbaum), Mark (Michelle Lalouche), and Lori (Mark) Epstein, grandchildren Alana (Jacob), Micah (Avital), Daniel, Sara (Grant), Julia, and Hannah, and were great-grandparents to Matan, Liav, and Maya. Paul kvelled at the many accomplishments of his children and grandchildren and loved spending time with his great-grandchildren, Matan, Liav, and Maya.
Paul and Shirley lived in Oakland until 1978, then San Francisco, and Rossmoor. They participated in many activities, including trips to the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. After Shirley’s passing, Paul was cared for by Carole Umbarger.
Paul and Shirley were docents at Judah Magnes Museum and enjoyed traveling to the Council of American Jewish Museums convention. They traveled to Europe and to Israel, visiting ORT schools and making life-long friends.
They were members of Temple Sinai in Oakland, Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco, and Congregation B’nai Tikvah in Walnut Creek, often two at the same time.
Paul was a member of organizations including B’nai B’rith and the Board of San Francisco Humanities. He enjoyed Cal football games, playing bridge, and time with his family.
Donations may be made to ORT, East Bay Hospice, or your favorite Jewish charity.
Channaorah Meir
(Born Wendy Miller)
March 10, 1944–Jan. 2, 2026
Channaorah Meir, 81, passed away at her home in Carmel Valley, California, on January 2, 2026. A beloved daughter, sister, aunt, and friend, she will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.
Born Wendy Miller on March 10, 1944, in San Francisco, California, Channaorah grew up in the city, attended Lowell High School, and later graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.
Channaorah was a deeply loving and thoughtful person on a lifelong spiritual and psychological journey. For decades, she maintained a thriving psychotherapy practice in the heart of San Francisco. She was especially gifted at meeting people where they were — truly seeing them, validating their experiences, and guiding them toward insight and growth through Jungian and other therapeutic tools. In the later years of her practice, she came to recognize the importance of incorporating somatic experience as a pathway to releasing trauma and fostering deeper healing.
As part of her evolving spiritual life, Channaorah moved in and out of various Jewish communities, including the Aquarian Minyan in Berkeley, Chabad of San Francisco and Berkeley, and Beit Midrash Ohr HaChaim. In later years, she sought to create intimate spiritual gatherings in her cherished home in Carmel Valley, offering others meaningful Jewish experiences in small, personal settings — most notably in her sukkah.
Channaorah had a profound love of animals and nature. Drawn to their beauty and the promise of a slower, more intentional pace of life, she moved to Carmel Valley in 2007. She delighted in long walks along the ocean, trips to Big Sur, and years of dedicated sunrise qigong practice. She believed deeply in connection, and many of her neighbors came to feel more like family. Known affectionately around town as “the Dog Whisperer,” she formed special bonds with countless animals and their humans alike. The Carmel Knolls community will not be the same without her presence.
Channaorah is survived by her sister-in-law, Gerri Miller; her nieces and nephews-in-law, Lisa Miller and Andy Hellman, and Nicole and Theo Robins; her grandnieces and grandnephews, Arianna, Teigan, and Liam Hellman, and Liora and Ella Robins; and her beloved pets, Neshama and Zoe. She was preceded in death by her parents, Ruth and Arnold Miller, and her older brother, Larry (Lawrence) Miller.
May her memory always be a blessing. We were truly blessed to have had her in our lives.
A small graveside service was held at Gan Yarok, Fernwood Cemetery in Mill Valley, on Jan. 9, 2026. A Celebration of Life will be planned in Carmel in the spring.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Channaorah’s memory may be made to Peace of Mind Dog Rescue, Golden Oldies Cat Rescue, the Good People Fund, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, or Chabad of Berkeley.
Carolyn Diane Singerman
March 17, 1939–Jan. 6, 2026
Carolyn Singerman, born March 17, 1939, passed away peacefully on January 6, 2026. She was a devoted mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend whose love and strength shaped the lives of those around her.
Carolyn is survived by her four children, Marky, Mishy, Sari, and Billy; her brother, Ken Fass, and his wife Ellen; her cousins Leah, Leanne and Gene; and her cherished grandchildren, Sierra Silvia, Jake Silvia, Emily Singerman, Julian Goldberg, Lila Goldberg, Ashley Singerman, Bentley Singerman, and Portia Singerman; as well as her loving nieces and nephew, Wendy, Michael, and Stephanie, and their children, Casey, Brandon, and Loren.
She will be remembered for her warmth, resilience, and unwavering dedication to her family. Her presence will be deeply missed and forever held in the hearts of those who loved her.
Funeral services were held.
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Max Wexler
Jan. 2, 1926–Dec. 9, 2025
Max was the youngest and last surviving of the eight Wexler brothers; Lou, Bill, Nemo, Ralph, Dave, Morris, Oscar & Max. His parents Isadore & Yette Wexler were born and married in Romania in the late 19th century. Isadore, Yette & Lou established their American home in Toledo, Ohio, in 1912 where they lived in a small three-bedroom home. Max grew up during the Depression. As a teenager, he worked in the family ice delivery business and family confectionary store. Max’s father Isadore died in 1942, leaving Max at 16 to live with his mother Yette, with whom he lived with for another 43 years until her passing at age 99 in 1985.
Within two months of graduating high school in 1944, Max was inducted into the Army, where he joined brothers Nemo, Ralph, Dave, Morris, and Oscar already in the Army. Max spent more than 15 months in the Pacific during WWII serving in the Marshall Islands, the Philippines and ultimately part of General MacArthur’s occupation forces in Japan. While working his way across the Pacific, Max experienced the horrors of war and watched many of his Army comrades die.
After being discharged, Max followed his brothers Oscar and Bill into optometry. Max and Oscar practiced optometry together in Toledo. Max remained in Toledo with his mother until May of 1960, when they moved to San Mateo, California, to join four of his brothers – Lou, Ralph, Dave & Morris. Max continued his career as an optometrist on the Peninsula over the next 50 years, finally retiring in his mid-80s. He often took road trips to Southern California to visit nieces and nephews, and to Nevada for a bit of gambling and back to Toledo to visit family & friends. Max also traveled to Europe, Israel where he visited his brother Bill who had moved there, and back to Japan where he hadn’t been since the occupation.
Max was an accomplished bowler, winning countless trophies and usually posting the highest average in his B’nai B’rith league where he served as president during the ’60s. Max was the only brother who never married, but he took a keen interest in his brothers’ children as well as their children and grandchildren. Over the years, Max stayed in touch with all 53, all of whom considered him their “Uncle Max.” During her life, his mother was the focal point of the family, but after her passing and that of most of his older brothers, Max took on that role for the family. Many came from great distances to celebrate his 99th birthday last January. Max passed just 24 days short of his 100th birthday.
Max had an amazing memory and sense of humor until the very end. He was loved by all who knew him. He will be sorely missed by all the remaining Wexlers and his many friends at the Villa where he lived independently for the past 17 years.
Max was buried at Home of Peace Cemetery on Dec. 12, 2025, alongside four of his brothers and his mother at a beautiful ceremony led by Rabbi Graf of Sherith Israel.
Manfred Wolf
Jan. 1, 1935–Dec. 22, 2025
Manfred Wolf was fond of saying that he had adopted several identities in his life: Dutch boy, Jewish refugee in the Caribbean, immigrant to the U.S., professor, writer, and finally all those identities associated with family.
Surrounded by friends and loved ones, the longtime San Franciscan died Dec. 22 after a long illness. He was 90.
At just 21, Wolf started as an instructor at then San Francisco State College. He received emeritus status at S.F. State University in 2000, thus completing 44 years of teaching, occupying the same office in the humanities building.
Wolf was born on New Year’s Day 1935 in Chemnitz, Germany. In 1937, the Wolf family of four moved to Holland “in search of a better life,” away from the mounting anti-Semitism of Nazi Germany. In an idyllic small town near Amsterdam, they found that better life, but it was short-lived.
In 1940, the Nazis claimed the Netherlands, and by early 1942 Max Wolf, a Polish-born businessman, saw three bad options for him and his wife, Bertha, and their two children, Siegfried and Manfred. They could wait out the war, hide (in the fashion of the Frank family), or flee.
Hastening the decision-making, a Dutch policeman passed on the tip that the Wolfs were about to be deported to an unknown destination. They fled a furnished home, hopped on a train, and embarked on a yearlong escape.
For a great many years, Manfred Wolf avoided discussing, chronicling, or otherwise wrestling with his past. At midlife, he was drawn toward it.
Wolf’s definitive memoir, “Survival in Paradise” (2014), is an account of the family’s flight through Belgium, France, Spain, and Portugal. It is a tale of border crossings and bribes, concealed identities and forged documents. The family’s eventual safe haven was the Caribbean island of Curaçao, both Dutch-speaking and blessed with a modest, nestled Jewish community.
At just age 16 in 1951, Wolf enrolled as a student at Brandeis University in Massachusetts. By age 21 he had graduated from Brandeis, married Barbara Young (1933-2024), settled in San Francisco, and soon after started a family.
Arriving in the U.S. fluent in German, Yiddish, Dutch, and French, Wolf assimilated rapidly and remarkably achieved an unaccented English. Still, he remained conscious of his upbringing and continued to read in Dutch and to specialize in Dutch translation, the focus of his eventual PhD.
In hundreds of columns and several books published throughout his lifetime, Wolf took advantage of this outsider’s perspective, adhering to the view that American culture was “incurious and sentimental” but generally welcoming and good-natured.
“It’s one of the few places in the world,” he would say, “where people really DO want you to have a nice day.”
In another book, “Almost a Foreign Country” (2008), Wolf describes his fondness for (along with his mixed feelings about) the United States.
Family members say Wolf’s outsider’s view and attunement to language were key to his acerbic sense of humor, replete with impersonation, imitation, and outlandish characterizations. He maintained warm, lasting friendships and correspondences in the U.S. and Europe.
In mid-career he taught at the University of Helsinki and, after his retirement from SFSU, at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Fromm Institute at the University of San Francisco. His freelance writing continued in thousands of columns and articles.
Manfred Wolf is survived by his three sons, Dana, Michael, and Paul Wolf, four grandchildren, Sam, Lucie, Alyssa, and Josh Wolf, and great-grandson, Beckham Wolf Raphel.