Next Post 

When Uncle Len Rosenthal came into the world he broke the mold. He was/is the ultimate ‘good guy.’  As everyone seems to note, he never had a bad word to say about anyone, and, if he did he kept it to himself. And, I found Len to have a lot of GOOD, interesting words about people and  various topics  on which he was able to expound.  Whether it involved his hobbies such as bridge, books, music and tennis/sports   (to name but a few) or politics and world events, it was always interesting to hear his thoughts and share views with him.

      I found Uncle Len to be one of the easiest people to be around. There was no ‘PC’  with him  and he was open to all comers with differing viewpoints, and, as noted, the word ‘negative’ didn’t seem to exist in his dictionary. In a fast changing world, Uncle Len was right up on the latest developments but, as a person, he never seemed to change with his ‘old school’ values when it came to respect, manners and the way he treated  people.

Uncle Len was fun to be around. I can still picture the original Rosenthal home near Piedmont/Oakland, going back to the 1960s and then one or two other homes before they moved into their current  El Atillo  ‘dream home’ where they’ve reveled some thirty years.  I enjoyed our visits to see Aunt Pearl and Uncle Len there, as did Mindy and as the Kaufman family, before. Uncle Len and I  had several common interests  including  music and sports. We would talk about the latest Neil Diamond or Roy Orbison album, how the Giants and A’s would do as well as more serious issues; and once we even attended a Neil Diamond concert together .  Uncle Len   went out of his way to ask how we were doing and  would often ask about my music  and inquire about ‘my’ backyard wild turkeys, with a laugh .

      We spent many memorable times with Uncle Len and Aunt Pearl, too many to mention here. When it became too difficult for them to venture far, it was just nice to have lunch with them at their friendly local deli or  in their welcoming Los Gatos home.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see Uncle Len the last planned visit on MLK Day when he had an unexpected doctor visit. What else?  Uncle Len certainly had to endure too many  such visits in the last months, perhaps, but they resulted in more days we got to spend with him, and, like the trooper he was, Len courageously accepted    the frequent medical visits and associated tests and nuisances.  Uncle Len and Aunt Pearl are amazing testaments to what taking good care of oneself can do if longevity means anything. I think it does – even if one , at times, feels like calling it quits. Len was able to spend his last days as he always had, in the comfort of his home rather than some assisted living/ nursing facility.

In the end, Len got back at least some of the good karma he gave the world including being there to witness the arrival of three great-grandchildren  during his 94 well-lived years.

          Yes, I/we will miss Uncle Len very much. There’s nobody to replace somebody like him. The world will be  less well off without him but I will always be grateful for  the many times I DID  get to spend in  his company and call him my Uncle. He will live on in our hearts and minds

This entry was posted in Uncle Len. Bookmark the permalink.

Posted on February 1, 2016 by admin

I was very impressed to learn that 

AUNT Audrey Kaufman, Minnesota, turned 100 , just like her late husband, Uncle Al Kaufman a few years back. I told her she is the youngest 100 year old! She’s amazing- still active and thriving with family events like her great granddaughter’s upcoming Bat Mitzvah.

Congrats to Aunt Audrey and the entire family

View Alvin’s memorial website here

Age 101 ½ , passed away peacefully Shabbat morning, June 18, 2022. Alvin is survived by his beloved wife of 78 years, Audrey. Survived by children, Ronald and Pamela Kaufman, Barbara Fieldman and Stephen and Madeleine Kaufman; grandchildren Justin (Jenny), Craig (Leigh) Kimberly (Jake), Arielle (Ohad), David (Melissa), Ethan (Ashleigh), Matthew (Alyson) and Sharon (Jeremy); 15 great grandchildren; sister, Arlene Sweet; and many nieces and nephews. Al was a devoted husband and father who adored and took great pride in his children, grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. He was the owner of Amsterdam Diamond Cutters and Importers for over 50 years. A committed member of Beth El Synagogue, Al was active in the Men’s Club and attended daily morning minyan following retirement. Al was a consummate volunteer. He received an award for over 4000 volunteer hours at the VA and over 70 years of service with the Masonic Lodge. He was Past President of the downtown Lions Club, facilitated transportation rides for JFCS and STEP, served as an election judge and worked at the Special Olympics. Many thanks to Buster, Estella, Sam, Lanika, Kartoh, and Queenie for their devoted care. Al loved a good meal and a good joke. He was a kind and generous man and will be dearly missed. Funeral service 11:00 AM on MONDAY, June 20th at the UNITED HEBREW BROTHERHOOD CEMETERY CHAPEL, 2605 W. 70 ½ St., Richfield. Funeral available on zoom, email [email protected] for link. Donations in Al’s memory may be directed to the Alvin and Audrey Funds at Beth El Synagogue, JFCS, or Shalom Home Foundation. SHIVA 7:00 PM on Monday and Tuesday in the community room at 3000 St, Albans Mill Rd., Minnetonka.

Click here to share a memory or send a condolence to Alvin’s family

To learn more about our funeral home, visit Hodroff-Epstein Memorial

Dear Ron (and Pam) and family 

I thought you gave a wonderful send-off to Uncle Al. He deserved it, of course, and you well represented the family with your expression, I would think (I never thought it necessary to have 10 different people come up and essentially say the same thing in honor of someone). You capsulized everything, as well as one can capsulize 101. 5 years of a quality life. 

You spoke of Uncle Al as being part of that ‘greatest generation’ Tom Brokaw wrote about. yes, I agree with you that that generation WAS the greatest and Uncle Al personified it as well as anyone . From his time serving our country to all the philanthropic contributions he made to his volunteering at the vets, temple and beyond is incredible. He never really stopped working, he just rechanneled his efforts to these good causes while looking after his growing family including more distant relatives, like me. 

Many have pointed to Uncle Al’s calm demeaner and humbleness, which becomes even clearer in stark contrast to more recent ‘me’ generation(s). Will never forget those weekly, Sunday night calls we’d receive from Uncle Al. Unlike many adults who would call my Dad, especially after his stroke and prolonged illness, Uncle Al would take time to talk to me and ask how I was ‘holding up.’ This impressed me no end. We became like phone friends and after Dad passed, Uncle Al would continue to call me regularly to see how I was doing and to share family news and talk about life, religion and politics – with the latter two forboten topics for many but with Uncle Al one could talk about most anything and no fights would ensue.   

Until these later times, I never really got to know Uncle Al. Dad was a few years older and perhaps wasn’t with him growing up so much or just didn’t share with me. So, I got to know Uncle Al, personally, through conversations and experiences. After Dad passed away, Uncle Al, now in his nineties, even came out to visit.  Uncle Al became to me like a surrogate father, but more than that, he also seemed as much of a friend . We could talk at length about all topics and I learned more about the Kaufman family and lineage that my Dad may have never known or forgotten. Not to say my Dad didn’t have a lot of his own stories –enough to write a book we were going to do at one point – but with Uncle Al the stories came from the perspective of a younger brother (to my Dad) and another voice. Another part of his ‘retirement’ was developing the ‘family tree.’ 

When my Dad passed almost a decade ago (unlike Uncle Al, I’m bad with things like directions, time, etc.) we received literally a flood of charitable donations, most coming via Minneapolis. These were people I did not know but had ‘Jewish names,’ if you will. It was easy to figure out that Uncle Al got word out that ‘Jerry Kaufman of Minneapolis 1952’ had passed and gave out the charity donation info. It was not only nice to know that this many people (or perhaps offspring) remembered my Dad. We don’t have nearly the close-knit community in California you do in Minnesota. My Dad would have surely been moved with the response. But, that was just one example of Uncle Al and his kind, charitable way. From a personal standpoint, Uncle Al’s efforts resulted in a near doubling of the charitable donations in memory of Dad. I hope I conveyed my appreciation to Uncle Al at the time. 

I think its about time our generation started responding to what Tom Brokaw wrote about so well. Not only did Uncle Al and his generation have it harder, with having to deal with the War and its effects,but the old expression ‘pulling oneself up by his/her bootstraps’ . I certainly learned a lot from Uncle Al  

And took on an increased appreciation of that generation – something our generation doesn’t seem to have followed through with. We’ve had it good, by comparison, with no major wars, better economies, etc. Yet we somehow still lack that gratitude and humbleness we see in people like Uncle Al, especially Uncle Al. The world could use more ‘Uncle Als’. But there was really only one. 

  I will miss him and those kind ways of his. Growing up, we seemed to be reassured by calming support and guidance from ‘our elders.’ Now, we are the ‘elders’ and not sure our baby boomer generation  is doing the job that we inherited from the great generation. With th is in mind, I will especially miss Uncle Al, no longer with such a presence to turn to. Even as we are older and, supposedly, more mature, there’s nothing like that kind reassurance we received growing up.  

I’ve missed not being able to talk with Uncle Al so much in recent months. I was sorry to see what he has had to go through, losing much of his independence in recent months since his stroke last year. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to speak on the phone and he would sleep more. I wasn’t about to complain. Just getting to age 100 is an achievement. But, I did get to have some nice conversations with Aunt Audrey, while feeling bad for her own health issues while having to deal with Uncle Al’s increasing difficulties , and then covid. So, I kept my calls to a minimum, but was always thinking of them and greatful that they were still around. Now I will like to continue making occasional calls to Aunt Audrey if she doesn’t mind – just to say hello and get news on the family just as Uncle Al and given me before. 

It’s been disheartening of late to lose so many people, some probably needlessly, to covid and other things from drugs to violence. I sometimes wonder if the value of life has been diminished. One passes away and may be celebrated one day and forgotten the next. I don’t think that will or should be the case with Uncle Al. I also feel certain people have been put on earth as a sort of gift from God, if you will- and corny as it may sound. I think Uncle Al is one of those people. From what I gather there are dozens if not hundreds or thousands besides myself, whose lives he touched and enhanced.  

So, this is not goodbye to Uncle Al but so-long for now. He will always be a part of me/us , as we draw on his parting gifts with which he has enriched our lives, as we continue  our own journeys through life.  

With love, cares and prayers, 

California Kaufmans (via Burt)

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10222225663606101&id=1100251494

https://archive.org/includes/donate.php?as_page=1&platform=wb&referer=https%3A//web.archive.org/web/20180314164316/http%3A//kaufman.cc/

40 captures

17 Dec 2014 – 17 Jan 2024

  

 About this capture

The KAUFMANS of California

Greetings from Pauline, Joan, Don, Jerry Burt and Furry Family

Skip to content

• Home
• Greetings from the Kaufmans!
• Sharing and Caring
• Wednesdays with the Professor

Professor Helped Fill Void After Loss of Dad, Family

Posted on September 8, 2017 by admin

We had just begun ‘Wednesdays with the Professor ‘ when we lost Professor Letiche.  See transcripts

Professor Jack Letiche going over one of his books with wife Emily in background, circa 2000s

Professor Helped Fill Void After Loss of Dad,

Family

September 7, 2017

When my dad passed away nearly five years ago, just short of his 98^th birthday, it was important for me to continue our friendship with Professor Letiche, whom I had met through Dad and had gotten to know with the three of us going out for frequent lunches in later years prior to Dad’s passing.  Since Dad passed, Professor Letiche became another father figure, as well as a friend and teacher (though he never acted like one, often more interested in my well-being than his own.  )

Initially, when just the two of us started going out for lunch together I felt a little intimidated. Not that Professor was uncomfortable to be around but quite the opposite.  Here was this world reknown educator from U.C. Berkeley having lunch with little old me. How would I keep up with the conversation?  Could  I say the right things so as not to embarrass myself?  Without Dad I had the full ‘burden’ of carrying on the conversation alone.  But, I quickly learned that it was no burden whatsoever. Professor Letiche always made me feel most comfortable and even like an equal.  Even  though  I had but a fraction of his knowledge or life experience, Professor made me feel like my limited knowledge on economics and other subjects we discussed was just as important as his own.  This encouraged me to ‘bone up’ on topics of discussion so I could be well-versed as I learned and WAS eventually able to hold my own,  which made me feel like I DID have something to say – and our get-togethers became that much more interesting and enjoyable –for me, anyway, and hopefully for Professor.

Though Professor was quite well-spoken, he didn’t use big words to impress, but , rather spoke in everyman’s language we could all understand. I also found this to be true in his writings, such as his memoir, ‘Crisis and Compassion –from Russia to the Golden Gate,’  which was a wonderful read that provided Dad and me many hours of enjoyment reading it together; through this memoir  I gained  further insight into Professor Letiche, the man,  and  the  amazing, full life that he  led.

Professor Letiche’s 5-star Memoir ‘Crisis and Compassion’ still available thru Amazon, University Books, Berkeley

When Dad was alive, Professor Letiche was the only one who would call nearly every day to check up on him and when the two of us got together the first thing he would always ask  about  were my beloved cats –my lone remaining family members   .  Professor realized how important the cats were to me, especially after losing all my family members.  Few others showed me such a  caring nature.

It became a real treat  for me to go out with Professor Letiche for lunch at one of the finer restaurants in town, such as Skates on the Bay or Bette’s Oceanview Diner.  I would pick him up at his beautiful home in the Berkeley hills and we would venture out to one of a half dozen favorite restaurants we both seemed to equally enjoy.  With my advertising background, It was a pleasure – and challenge –  to help Professor ‘market’ his memoir.  (I remember the wonderful discourse he gave at the University bookstore when the book first  came out as my Dad , still around at the time, and I listened in awe.) The book was a   true Five Star gem with great reviews one can still see on Amazon or at the the book website http://crisisandcompassion.roadtosuccess.biz/

Professor would continue to write articles and had   working on yet another book  that , I believe , dealt with the historical relationship between  unemployment and  the economy, more specifically, trade in light of the possible dissolving of NAFTA .  This was also the topic of one of our last discussions, which  I found very interesting .

After Professor Letiche had a major setback  earlier this year , and was hospitalized for several weeks , he bounced   back, so to speak , and was working on the new book.  However, now he was on oxygen full time and our lunches were at Professor’s house.  Yet, he proclaimed it would only be a matter of time until he got stronger and we could go out to restaurants again.  And I believed him.  Much like my own Dad, Professor had the drive and will to go on.  I even watched as he did some light exercises at the table.   Now that Professor was  in a wheelchair , one day recently I   was in for an even bigger surprise when he asked me to help him stand , which I did, reluctantly at first, and with the help of Arthur  carrying the oxygen, he would walk all the way to his bedroom on his own, this only several weeks ago.  There, he would continue to do light exercises from the side of his bed while I read him the day’s news from the New York Times. (Professor’s eyesight had deteriorated and enjoyed hearing the news – as did I enjoy learning the latest from none other than the New York Times.)

And to everyone’s surprise – maybe not – Professor DID get stronger and  we would continue our now weekly Wednesday afternoon discussions at his dining room table.  Elvie, Professor’s wonderful caregiver, would whip up food that was better than the restaurants’, and I would bring  dessert.   So, I didn’t miss going out to the restaurants , what with Elvie’s restaurant (I was not surprised to learn that she is a noted cook who had planned to open her own restaurant; hopefully one day she still will) and the beautiful view overlooking  the Bay from the Letiche dining room table.  We would now have even better discussions on economics, politics or the topic du jour in this nice, quiet environment. What an enjoyable experience it was for me getting together with Professor, Elvie and Arthur each week.

I already miss Professor Letiche very much. Yesterday was the first Wednesday in some time we didn’t meet. But, I am lucky to have been able to be in his presence a full five years after Dad’s passing. I admired everything about Professor Letiche   – especially his optimism . good nature and  common sense.   Without it , he might not have lived as long as he did.  I remember on one occasion months back he told me about when he wasn’t feeling well. It was a Friday and he couldn’t get into his doctor’s office until Wednesday.  Professor Letiche checked himself into emergency that weekend and it’s a good thing he did, because  the doctors there told him he had a major health issue and if he hadn’t come right in he wouldn’t have made it through the weekend.

Unlike my Dad, Professor was able to live out his live in his beloved home of over 50 years. Though he had outlived most of his contemporaries,  he still had many who cared about him , like Linda   , a former  neighbor who dropped by  during one of our afternoon discussions and it was fun to have her participate. Then there was Cheryl (sp), Professor’s long time next door neighbor , who I had met at Professor’s wife’s remembrance some years ago;  she was good enough to call me that Tuesday morning , September 5, 2017 at five in morning to share with me our loss of Professor.  It was good to have someone to talk to – and then Elvie would call me later.  I’m sure these good friends helped Professor keep going   many more years after losing his beloved wife, Emily.   And,  there were so many others , including Professor’s son, Hugo and his extended family , from whom members would always be coming out from the Netherlands to visit Professor , some as recently as two weeks ago.

Just as when I lost Dad, there will be another big void in my life with the passing of Professor Letiche. But, this time there is nobody left like Professor to help fill the void. I really thought he might just keep on keeping on, but we can’t be greedy. Ninety-eight years isn’t bad, and, again it’s interesting how he made it to almost the exact age as Dad.   I am grateful for having known Professor Letiche, who helped keep me going , so kind and compassionate himself after the loss of my last family member.

Thanks so much to Professor for everything as well as the ‘supporting cast’ in his life who made things work so well for all of us.

With cares and prayers, in living tribute,

BK

Posted in Professor Letiche | Tagged letiche | 1 Comment

Posted on August 16, 2016 by admin

A friend sent this to me and I liked it so much I wanted to share it with you.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

THE PAST WEEKEND MARKED THE 17th Anniversary Passing of my dear sister Joan. As  before, I/we like to especially remember Joan and family members on on these days.

From Joan’s (and my) good friend, HELEN:
Some memories about things Joan and I shared:   I was active in going to workshops etc at JFK then in aboutrinda and invited Joan to go with me to drum with other drummers.  She seemed so excited about drumming and went out and bought a drum for this event.  We both had such a good time and did a little drumming after that event.    She loved the paintings at the Legion of Honor museum and she drove us to see some French Impressionists.  I know she enjoyed surrounding herself with art.  A book that stands out is by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, a Jungian analyst and story teller:  Women Who Run with the Wolves.  Its theme is that both women and Wolves have that deep need for freedom and exploring their inner untamed, unspoiled depths.  Estes uses folktales from around the world to explore using this theme of finding power through our creative self and not settling for society’s rules.   This book set off many discussions about our wise woman within.   She and I both loved travel and she told me about her experiences in Jerusalem.  We spent many days at dog park at Pt. Isabel with her dogs Pucky and Roscoe and mine Zuni.  We loved to go to the pool and hot tub and had conversations about each others’ lives while sitting at poolside.  Joan enjoyed meeting these 2 visiting scholars from Spain who were staying at my house for awhile and asked them about their lives in Barcelona.  She was so curious and interested in everyone’s stories.      Burt, these are a few of my many memories and they bring back the beauty of Joan and her warmth

Posted in Joan Kaufman | Tagged hELEN, jOAN | Leave a comment

Once again on this first day of summer I’m thinking of  sister Joan, born on this day, JUNE 21 .

Bottom drawing by Joan I have no details on, but top is her portrait of beloved Roscoe, her last dog (with Pucky) -the sweetest dog ever who I was lucky to care for his last three years

I remember her everyday but this is a special day I share memories of her, once a year.

Joan was multi-talented. Along with music, teaching, English literature and math, She was a talented amateur artist and I’m hoping to scan and share some more of her artwork soon in these pages and on website . We shared a lot of similarities via bloodlines or otherwise but she was ahead of me in most areas, eg both played piano -she took lessons for about 15 years and we loved the same music, food , movies – you name it, and she was a much better artist.

WE WERE EACH OTHER’S BEST DOCTOR WHEN IT CAME TO ALLERGIES

We always got allergies of the same nature at the same time and were able to share symptoms to make sure they were ONLY allergies. This year I had some real strange allergies (?) and had to go to the doctor instead of asking Joan to make sure they were only allergies since no Joan to compare with. In the past we figured that if both of us had the same thing at the same time they WERE only allergies. (The doctors weren’t even sure about my medical issue this time, so, yes, Joan was a better doctor than the actual doctors in this case). This is just one little vignette that comes to me today – and much of the spring/summer when allergies (or whatever it is) gets bad. Happy Summer to Joan wherever you are and everyone one else.

Posted in Artist, Joan Kaufman, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Posted on February 14, 2016 by admin