Obituaries

Sarah Katz, 97, died Dec. 25, 2019. Mrs. Katz moved to Tucson from Skokie, Illinois in 1971. She worked at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging for 25 years, until her retirement. Mrs. Katz was predeceased by her husband of more than 50 years, Jerome Katz. Survivors include her… Read more »

Diana Jo (Zieger) Leeds, 83, died Dec. 26, 2019 in Phoenix. Mrs. Leeds was born in Philadelphia and grew up in New Jersey. She moved to Phoenix in 1953, finished at North High and met her eventual husband, Ron, at Arizona State University. After their marriage, Mrs. Leeds taught… Read more »

Gerald “Jerry/Big D/Grand D” Vegodsky (1929 – 2019) Gerald Vegodsky was born Feb. 12, 1929 in Brooklyn, New York. He married the love of his life, Ruth, in 1950. He was a proud veteran of the Army and did his military service from 1951-1953. He and Ruth moved to… Read more »

Esther Sherberg, a longtime Tucson resident and Jewish community volunteer, died Jan. 9, 2020, at the age of 86. Services were held Jan. 10 at Evergreen Mortuary, with Rabbi Robert Eisen of Congregation Anshei Israel officiating. Interment was in St. Louis, Missouri. Ms. Sherberg was born Oct. 1, 1933… Read more »

(JTA) — Gladys Bourdain, who convinced an editor to publish the first article written by her chef son Anthony, has died. Bourdain died in hospice on Friday in the Bronx, New York. She was 85. She worked for nearly 25 years as a copy editor at the New York… Read more »

Michael Elsner

Michael Elsner, 65, died Dec. 9, 2019 of pancreatic cancer. Mr. Elsner was born to Sidney and Jean Elsner in Cleveland, Ohio, where he grew up. He graduated from the University of Arizona and earned a master’s degree and doctorate from American University. He taught sociology, criminology, and criminal… Read more »

Harold Feig

Harold “Leroy” Feig, 83, died Nov. 25, 2019. Mr. Feig was born in the Bronx, New York, to Rose and Herbert Feig. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Mimi (Richard). Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Bobbie; children, Betsy (Fred) of Scottsdale, Marc (Aleda) of Phoenix,… Read more »

(JTA) — Richard Alpert, the spiritual seeker better known as Baba Ram Dass who first came to prominence as a confederate of the controversial LSD proponent Timothy Leary, has died. Albert, who was raised in a Jewish family in suburban Boston, died at his home in Maui on Sunday.… Read more »

Jennifer Tamara Mendelsohn, 39, died Dec. 4, 2019. Ms. Mendelsohn was born in Tucson. She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Archie and Marjorie Mendelsohn of Tucson, Richard Temple of Kansas City, and Miriam Temple of Tucson. Survivors include her parents, Steven and Karen Mendelsohn; and brother, Jason… Read more »

Alvin Kivel, 93, died Nov. 30, 2019. Mr. Kivel was born in Loma Linda, California, and moved to Tucson when he was 2. He attended Mansfeld Jr. High and Tucson High School, graduating in 1944. After high school, he joined the Navy and then returned to Tucson to attend… Read more »

Hal Arkowitz, Ph.D., age 78, died Nov. 16, 2019. Dr. Arkowitz was an emeritus associate professor of psychology at the University of Arizona. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and his B.A. from New York University. His work was dedicated to understanding… Read more »

John W. Polacheck, M.D., 77, died Nov. 25, 2019, in Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Polacheck was born on April 10, 1942 in Milwaukee, where he grew up with his parents, Walter and Shirley Polacheck, and his younger siblings Linda, Mary, and Tom. After graduating as the valedictorian from Riverside High… Read more »

Harry Victor Katz, 81, died Oct. 31, 2019, in Coral Gables, Florida. Mr. Katz was born on June 14, 1938, in Los Angeles, where he spent the first 26 years of his life with his parents, Alfred and Lillian Katz, and his brother, Roger Katz. He attended John Marshall… Read more »

Susan Marcia Broder, 72, died Oct. 24, 2019. Mrs. Broder was born in the Bronx, New York, to Minnie and Murray Cohen. At age 13, she was stricken with Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes. In 1967, after receiving her bachelor’s degree in romance languages from Queens College in New York… Read more »

Judith Millstone, 69, died Sept. 28, 2019.  Ms. Millstone had been a resident of Tucson since 1968 when her family moved here from Rochester, N.Y., and she decided to attend the University of Arizona, graduating in 1972. She taught fifth grade for about seven years in Safford.  While she… Read more »

Betty Lou Rosenthal Light, 97, died Oct. 6, 2019. Mrs. Light was a matriarch in Gunnison, Colorado, for over seven decades before moving to Tucson in 2013. In Tucson, she lived at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging. Mrs. Light was preceded in death by her husband of almost… Read more »

Rayna Leah Gellman, 83, died peacefully in her sleep on Sept. 19, 2019, after a brief period of illness. Born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 21, 1936, Rayna was the middle of Sol and Julia Nathan’s three daughters. Julia moved Rayna and her sisters Esther (Capin) and Roberta (Bracker)… Read more »

Robert Michael Hersch, 69, died Oct. 3, 2019. Mr. Hersch was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Abington High School and went on to receive a B.A. in political science from American University in Washington D.C., a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Arizona, and… Read more »

Our beloved mother, Roslyn Girard Miller, was born in Brooklyn, New York, on Feb. 25, 1929 and passed peacefully on Sept. 29, Erev Rosh Hashanah, 2019. Along with occasional excursions to Coney Island with her younger brothers George and Ira, Roz’s Brooklyn childhood and early teen years revolved around… Read more »

Thomas John Peters, 62, of Oro Valley, died Sept. 16, 2019. Mr. Peters was born in Chicago, Illinois. He studied music in college and eventually followed his brother and sister-in-law, Jim and Maureen, to Tucson, where he began a career in the health insurance industry. He was at UMC/Banner… Read more »