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Friday August 15, 2008

Deaths

Hilde Amkraut was born in 1930 in Berlin and survived the war with her mother and grandmother in Bavaria. Her grandfather was the physician Otto Benari, a descendant of famous Rabbis. Her father, Ernst Weiher, was a concert pianist and painter. He died when Hilde was one year old. Hilde and her mother survived the war miraculously in a small Bavarian village. After the war, Hilde immigrated to New York, and eventually trained to be a nurse at Glen Cove hospital, where she met her husband, Alfred. Hilde converted to Judaism in Glen Cove and married Alfred in 1955. On their honeymoon they drove to San Francisco, where Hilde worked in pediatrics at Kaiser hospital. After her two daughters were born, Hilde and her family moved to Palo Alto in 1959. Although they moved briefly to Oregon and Pasadena, Hilde always loved Palo Alto, and in 1968, when Alfred received an offer to join the Stanford medical school faculty, the family returned to Palo Alto to settle for good.

Hilde was enchanted with her children, grandchildren, and sons-in-law. She and her husband were inseparable. Hilde was the central force in organizing and making special many family events, such as birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. She particularly excelled at creating wonderful Shabbat dinners every Friday night for her extended family. She was an accomplished cook and often invited Alfred’s associates to dinner. Many who came to visit raved about her delectable meals.

Hilde was an avid and disciplined swimmer and biker. She swam a mile every day for many years. She did every errand she possibly could on her bicycle, and many in the neighborhood became accustomed to seeing her riding around the block.

All her family loved her dearly, as did all those whom she befriended. Her family and friends will miss her, her love, authenticity, cheerfulness, and her natural personality.

Hilde suffered briefly of metastatic melanoma and passed away peacefully in her home on June 20th. She is survived by her husband, Alfred, her daughters Claire and Susan, their husbands Michael Girard and Dan Epstein, and her two grandchildren, Alex and Naomi.

We recommend that donations in her memory be made to the Hilde Amkraut education fund of Congregation Kol Emeth in Palo Alto or the charity of your choice.

Maurice Fox, a physician and longtime resident of Palo Alto, died at his home on Thursday, July 31, 2008.

Born in Poland in 1932, he immigrated to the United States in 1937, settling in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was the eldest of six children. He graduated from college and medical school at Vanderbilt University, followed by a residency in internal medicine at UCSF, where he was Chief Resident from 1963-1964.

From 1964 until his retirement in 1990, Maurice practiced internal medicine and endocrinology at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and was a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He was one of the first endocrinologists to practice in this area and was a leader and innovator in the treatment of diabetes. He was a member of the Board of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation for 16 years and Director of their Clinical Laboratory from 1980-1990. During his professional career, he was a Vice President and a Regent of the American College of Physicians and a member of the Board of Governors of the American Board of Internal Medicine.

He is survived by his wife, Ellen, and their children: Susan (Frank) Sopper of Dummerston, Vermont; Arthur (Frederico Farina) Fox of New York City; Maggie (Gibson) Bussey of Atlanta; Peggy (Eric) Sugar of San Francisco; and John (Gail) Thomason of Chicago. He is also survived by seven grandchildren: Sophia, Ian, Claire, Kate, Will, Clark and Carolina. In addition, he is survived by 5 brothers and sisters: Rena (Bud) Silverberg of Dallas; Alvin (Lauren) Fox of Nashville; Harry (Mary Ellen) Fox of Baltimore; Rochelle Levinson of Baltimore; and Howard (Michelle) Fox of Raleigh.

He lived a huge and fulfilling life amidst loving family, friends and colleagues. His family is indebted to all those who enriched his life. Private services were held at Congregation Kol Emeth in Palo Alto on August 3, 2008.

Ariah Schwartz, M.D., an internationally recognized leader in eye surgery, died August 7, 2008 at the age of 89. Dr. Schwartz was born in Montreal, Canada in 1919. As an undergraduate at U.C. Berkeley in 1938, he met his wife, Pauline, in Psychology 1A. They married shortly thereafter. Following medical school at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and internship at the U.S. Marine Hospital in Detroit, he joined the service. He was initially commissioned to a Coast Guard Cutter operating in the North Atlantic and was then sent to Greenland. As the only physician at a naval base of 150 men, he cared for military personnel and the indigenous Eskimo population.

After the service, Dr. Schwartz spent two years in an Ear, Nose, and Throat residency at the Veterans Administration hospital and then three years in an Ophthalmology residency at UCSF. Following residency, Dr. Schwartz received a Heed Fellowship enabling him to train at Harvard with Dr. Charles Schepens, the founder of modern retinal surgery. As part of a Heed Fellowship, he received further retinal specialty training at Stanford, Columbia University, and the Mayo Clinic.

When he returned to San Francisco in 1955, he established the Retinal Surgery Unit of the Department of Ophthalmology at UCSF, which he directed until 1966 (His son, Dan, is now the Director of this same unit). Dr. Schwartz taught at UCSF for almost 50 years and helped train over 150 Ophthalmology residents. In 1992, Dr. Schwartz received the Crowell Beard Award by the ophthalmology residents for outstanding teaching.

When laser surgery for the eye was first developed in 1965, Dr. Schwartz employed laser to treat selective cases of diabetes, macular degeneration, and retinal tears. “Schwartz Syndrome” was named after Dr. Schwartz when he described a form of glaucoma that resolved after surgical treatment of retinal detachment.

In 1971, Dr. Schwartz visited Israel for the first time. After returning home, he established a retinal fellowship to bring an Israeli ophthalmologist to the Bay Area for training in modern retinal surgery. Subsequently, Dr. Schwartz returned to Israel to establish a retinal surgical unit at the Asaf Harofe Hospital in Tel Aviv. For his work in Israel, Dr. Schwartz was honored with the Dr. Landau Award in Ophthalmology.

Dr. Schwartz had a very busy private practice in Burlingame, CA with his longtime partners, Dr. Robert Sherwood (deceased), Dr. Hubert Marcus, and Dr. Thomas Neumayr. Patients traveled from all over the world seeking his surgical expertise. Grateful patients contributed over $1 million to establish a research foundation dedicated to ocular disease. Over the past 25 years, the foundation has made annual grants to medical centers in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America.

In 1979, Dr. Schwartz was elected president of the American Retina Society, an organization created by leading retinal surgeons from North America to further knowledge in diseases and surgery of the retina. In 1993, at the 50th anniversary of his graduation from the UCSF Medical School, the Alumni-Faculty honored him as the Distinguished Alumnus of his class.

Dr. Schwartz was a member of numerous medical societies including the prestigious American Ophthalmologic Society, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Board of Councilors 1981-1983), the Retina Society (president 1979-1981), the Frederick C. Cordes Eye Society (president 1977-78), the Schepens International Society, the San Francisco Ophthalmological Round Table (president 1974), and the Society of Heed Fellows. Additionally, he was active in the community, serving on the Board of Directors of the Crippled Children’s Service for the Easter Seal Society, the Northern California Society to Prevent Blindness (president 1986-1988), and on the Executive Committee of Peninsula Hospital.

Dr. Schwartz played tennis most of his life. As a member of his high school team, a high point was losing a match to the famed Bobby Riggs. He learned to ski as an adult when he and Pauline took up the sport together at age 50. Dr. Schwartz skied avidly until he was 78.

Dr. Schwartz is survived by his wife, Pauline, his four children, Nina, Eric, Daniel, and David, and his grandson, Frank. A memorial service will be held at the San Francisco Towers 1661 Pine St. San Francisco on September 7, 2008 at 3 p.m. The family asks that any donations in Dr. Schwartz’s memory be directed to That Man May See, Department of Ophthalmology, 10 Koret Way, Box 0352 San Francisco, CA 94143-0352.

Katharine Shragge Lovinger was born on December 31, 1952 in San Francisco, California. She passed away on August 3 at age 55 in Eugene, Oregon, after a sudden illness.

She lived in San Francisco, Oregon, Greece, and Missouri, but called Eugene home during many phases of her life.

She received her Bachelor of Arts in romance languages from the University of Oregon. She remained a student throughout her life, studying culinary arts (a field in which she worked professionally), archaeology, and most recently linguistics and weaving. In January, she traveled to Peru where she obtained her Certificate to teach English as a Second Language and found a new passion for indigenous weaving.

Having spent many years in Greece, she continued to incorporate Greek traditions into her home and children’s lives and often said she felt she was half-Greek.

Katharine was devoted to the Jewish community wherever she lived, on the boards or president of the Sisterhood. In Eugene, Katharine was instrumental in coordinating the kitchen at the new Temple Beth Israel. Katharine also sat on the board of Hillel and was a Parent Director of the B’Nai Brith Youth Organization.

She traveled the world and with each trip brought back with her tales of people, art and life. She no doubt touched the communities she visited. Her extended visits to Japan with her husband, Ron, fulfilled her lifetime fascination with Japanese art and culture.

Katharine had a generous spirit and open home. She was known for hosting Sabbath dinners, Thanksgivings, Passovers, and birthdays; her irresistible food and unmatchable hospitality were renowned.

She was a loving wife, an extraordinary mother, a devoted sister, and a caring friend.

She is survived by her husband, Ronald Lovinger; her three children, Panayotis, Eleni, and Marika Tsolakis, and her first husband, Alkis Tsolakis; her four siblings, Abraham, Barbara, and Harmon Shragge, and Mollie Hart; her nieces and nephews Alex, Katie, Jimmy, David, Nick, George, Ingrid, Ulrika, and Henrik; her two stepchildren, Justine and Adam Lovinger; and three step-grandchildren Elliott, Max, and Racquel.

A memorial will be held for Katharine on Saturday, September 13. For details, please call Barbara Shragge at 415-666-3320 or e-mail Shragge@comcast.net.

Marlene Silk died suddenly and too soon July 25th, 2008 in Encinitas, CA, age 60. She was an active member of Temple Beth Hillel prior to making Aliyah to Israel for three years. She is survived by her mother, sister, and sons.

Charles Tepper in San Francisco, on August 11, 2008 from congestive heart failure.

Beloved husband, father, brother, uncle and friend. Born February 16, 1918 in Albany, NY, Charles studied engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Rutgers University, earning a BSEE and MSEE. On his 21st birthday he began working at the U.S. Army Signal Corp Laboratory at Ft. Monmouth, N.J. where he was employed until his retirement in February, 1973. He was a resident of Long Branch, N.J. for over 44 years and moved to San Francisco in 1984.

Charles served his community as an officer and director of the Long Branch and Monmouth County Jewish Community Centers and Temple Beth Miriam in Elberon, N.J. He was a Boy Scout troop leader, member of a bowling league for 40 years, belonged to the Montefiore Couples Club of the SFJCC and Congregation Beth Sholom, San Francisco. He was an avid bridge player who achieved the rank of ACBL Life Master. He played tennis daily until he was 82.

Charles is survived by his wife of almost 64 years, Ruth P. Tepper, children Jean (Segal) and David (Lauren) of San Francisco, and Emily Mazur (Myles), of Tucson, and grandchildren Samuel and Max Segal and Julia Mazur.

A memorial service was held at Sinai Memorial Chapel, 1501 Divisadero at Geary Blvd, S.F. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Gesher Fund, Congregation Beth Sholom, 310 14th Ave., S.F., CA 94118, or to the charity of your choice.

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