Post-Its

Shifrette (Shiffy) Diana Cohen, 84, died Sept. 14, 2015. Born in Chicago, Mrs. Cohen graduated from Marshall High School in 1948. She met and married her husband, Bob Cohen, in 1951. She was a teacher and administrator in Jewish education at Anshe Emet and Solomon Schechter day schools in… Read more »

Sidney Morgen, 86, died Sept. 6, 2015, in Houston. Mr. Morgen graduated from High School of Commerce in New York in 1945. He received a bachelor’s degree from City College of New York and a master’s degree from the University of Arizona. Mr. Morgen worked for the Arizona State Employment… Read more »

Rabbi Yossie Shemtov

The Jewish year of 5776 has just begun and we are certain that it will be a wonderful year. In the words of the Kohen Gadol (high priest) during the Yom Kippur service, may it be a year of light, of blessing, of rejoicing, of happiness, of glory and… Read more »

A son, CALEB RICHARD BROWN, was born July 30, 2015 to Kristina and Benjamin Brown of Phoenix. Grandparents are Patrice and Ronald Janoff-Brown of Tucson and Casey and Richard Ravenkamp of Los Angeles. Great-grandparents are Barbara Janoff-Kaplan of Tucson, Margie Brown-Simon of Florida, Kola Janoff of Tucson and Richard… Read more »

Sydney Ruskin, daughter of Amy and Seth Ruskin, will celebrate becoming a bat mitzvah on Sept. 12 at Temple Emanu-El. She is the granddaughter of Robert and the late Monica Schumann of Window Rock, Ariz., and Laurie and Harvey Ruskin of Albuquerque, N.M. Sydney attends Ida Flood Dodge Traditional… Read more »

Betty Desberg Friedlander, 96, died Aug. 30, 2015. Mrs. Friedlander and her first husband, Ira Desberg, vacationed in Arizona during the 1940s, and after his death, she remarried and retired to Tucson in the 1970s. Mrs. Friedlander was preceded in death by her first husband, Ira Desberg, and her… Read more »

Debra Sue Simon, 60, died Aug. 23, 2015. Born at Tucson Medical Center in 1954, she was featured in the Arizona Daily Star as Perky Little Debra Sue. Mrs. Simon lived her entire life in Tucson. She graduated from Catalina High School, where she was a varsity gymnast. After… Read more »

Rebecca Pitts and Keith Kueny were married Aug. 8, 2015 in Salem, Ore. Both are 2013 graduates of Willamette University College of Law. Rebecca is the daughter of Judith Brown of Tucson and Terry Pitts of Cedar Ra­pids, Iowa, and the granddaughter of Miriam Brown of Tucson. Keith is… Read more »

Dana and Ira Adler announce the engagement of their son, Michael Alan Adler, to Meredith Jacqueline Zitron, daughter of Barbara Gross of Pepper Pike, Ohio, and stepdaughter of Terry Pollack. Michael is the grandson of Joanne Dendinger of Bloomington, Minn., and the late Miriam and Milton Adler and Wilbert… Read more »

JORDAN NATHANIEL SUMBERG, son of Lori and Craig Sumberg, will celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah on Saturday, September 5, 2015 at Temple Emanu-El. He is the grandson of Estelle and Eugene Laska of New York, and the late Arlene and Shepard Sumberg of Boston. Jordan attends The Gregory School… Read more »

Maris (Mitzi) Kay Bootzin, 74, died Aug. 17, 2015, in Austin, Texas. Born in Milwaukee, Mrs. Bootzin graduated from Whitefish Bay High School in Milwaukee where, in her senior year, she directed all theatre productions. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Early in her career, she was a part-time… Read more »

Naomi Islin, 100, died March 11, 2015. Born in Manhattan, N.Y., she married Sidney Islin in 1936 and they moved to Tucson in 1948. Mrs. Islin worked as a civilian for the U.S. Navy at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War II while her husband served in the… Read more »

Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon

We are about to begin the yearly journey of the Jewish fall holidays, examining the choices we continually make and the way our choices have worked out for us in the past year. The last month of the Jewish year, Elul, is bracketed by Torah portions from Deuteronomy that… Read more »

Allen Derman, 53, died July 9, 2015. Born in the Bronx, N.Y., Mr. Derman was raised in Tucson. He graduated from Rincon High School in 1979 and earned a systems engineering degree from the University of Arizona in 1984. He lived in Denver for the past 20 years. He… Read more »

Beatrice L. Jaffe, 98, died July 11, 2015. Born in Methuen, Mass., Mrs. Jaffe attended college for one year and worked in retail sales and customer service. In 1998, she moved to Tucson to be near family. Mrs. Jaffe was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Barney… Read more »

Betty Kay Holpert, 92, died July 26, 2015. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Mrs. Holpert grew up in a multi-generational immigrant family. She graduated from Brooklyn College in 1944 with a Bachelor of Arts in history and graduated from Pratt Institute in 1945 with a Bachelor of Library… Read more »

Leon M. Kreida, 84, of Oro Valley, died Aug. 2, 2015. Born in Worcester, Mass., Mr. Kreida earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Arizona. He served in the Marines during the Korean War and was in the Army Reserves. He was an insurance salesman and… Read more »

Rabbi Thomas Louchheim

In one month, many of us will gather in our synagogues, ob­serving the beginning of the New Year. Ten days later we will fast and be called to look beyond our needs and our yearnings to care for those whose basic needs are not being met. I realize today… Read more »

 (JTA) — Theodore Bikel, an actor and folk singer who was recognized in 1997 with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, has died at 91. Bikel, who won fame playing Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof,” doing more performances of the role than any… Read more »

Carol Kestler, 74, died July 17, 2015. A longtime resident of Tucson, Mrs. Kestler was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. She was the founder and executive director of Arts Genesis, an organization that made art instruction available in less privileged schools. She was a widely known as a Judaic teacher… Read more »