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Obituaries: Marvin M. Hansher, Gerald J. Kahn, Carolyn J. Komisar, Morry Mitz, Beatrice Joy Smith, Esther Florence Tarnof

September 2nd, 2011

Marvin M. Hansher
Native Milwaukeean Marvin M. Hansher of Grafton died June 8. He was 90.

Hansher graduated from North Division High School in 1939. After service stateside in the Army Air Corps during World War II, he attended Marquette University and graduated with a degree in business in 1947. He worked in human resources for A. O. Smith.

He was a member of Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue and Congregation Anshai Lebowitz. He also was a 32nd degree Mason. According to his family, he was interested in “sports of all kinds.”

His wife, Dorothy (nee Freeman), died in 1986. He is survived by daughter Sharon (Bill) Trost of Milwaukee, son Jeffrey (Debra) Hansher of Mequon, and five grandchildren.

Goodman-Bensman Whitefish Bay Funeral Home handled arrangements. Rabbi Dovid Rapoport officiated at the funeral on June 10. Burial was in Second Home Cemetery.

The family would appreciate memorial contributions to the American Diabetes Association or to other charities.

 
Gerald J. Kahn
Milwaukee attorney Gerald J. Kahn died on July 2. He was 85.

A Milwaukee native, he graduated from Washington High School in 1942 and thereafter earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

With Dudley Godfrey, he was the founding partner of Godfrey & Kahn, SC, in 1957, which eventually became one of the largest law firms in Wisconsin, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article of July 8. The firm now has offices in Madison, Appleton, Green Bay, Waukesha, and Washington, D.C.

Kahn was a member of Congregation Sinai and was active in many community organizations, Jewish and non-Jewish. He was a president of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, the founding president of the Mosse-Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies at UW-Madison, chair of the local committee for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and a president of the former Jewish Vocational Service (now the Milwaukee Center for Independence).

He also was part of the original ownership team of the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team; a board member of United Way, Beloit College, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, among others.

According to his family, he was an avid gardener, a connoisseur of wines, a collector of American antiques, a reader of historical novels, and a player of tennis, golf, and bridge. He also enjoyed dancing and the music of Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Rosalie; daughters Nancy (Ernie) Grunfeld of Patomac, Md., Lori Kahn of River Hills, and Cindy (Steve Marker) Kahn of Aspen, Colo.; and four grandchildren.

Blane Goodman Funeral Service handled arrangements. Rabbi Ron Shapiro officiated at the funeral on July 5. Burial was in Mound Zion Cemetery.

The family would appreciate memorial contributions to the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

 
Carolyn J. Komisar
Carolyn J. Komisar, nee Jacobson, of Milwaukee died July 8. She was 85.

She graduated from Riverside High School in 1944 and Wisconsin State Teachers College (now the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) in 1948. According to her family, she worked as a grade school teacher for two years, then was a homemaker.

She was a member of Congregation Shalom and was involved in “various Jewish organizations,” according to her family. She enjoyed cooking, reading, and travel.

Her husband, Bernard Komisar, died in 2010. She is survived by sons Jeffrey (Barbara) Komisar of Whitefish Bay, William (Becky) Komisar of Bayside, and Andrew (Shannon Corallo) Komisar of Whitefish Bay; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Blane Goodman Funeral Service handled arrangements. Rabbi Ronald Shapiro officiated at the funeral on July 10. Burial was in Second Home Cemetery.

The family would appreciate memorial contributions to the Milwaukee Jewish Home and Care Center, COA Youth and Family Centers, or the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association.

 
Morry Mitz
Morry Mitz of Bayside died on July 19. He was 89.

Mitz was born and raised in Milwaukee and graduated from North Division High School. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and ended up as a teletype operator on Okinawa in the Pacific Theater, where he was one of the first to learn that the Japanese had surrendered, according to his wife of 64 years, Lorraine (nee Bass).

After the war, he entered the scrap business and became president of Milwaukee Scrap Metal Company.

He and his family were members of Congregation Beth Israel, and he was active in its Men’s Club. He was also a member of B’nai B’rith and the Jewish War Veterans; served on the boards of the Jewish National Fund and BBYO; and supported many Jewish and other causes. His wife mentioned that he was active in a program she called “The Ranch,” through which he would help challenged or disadvantaged children have horseback rides.

He also enjoyed gardening and, in his later years, spending time in Florida, according to his wife.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by daughters Natalie (Roger) Palay and Carrie (Ralph) Jacobson, sons Richard (Phyllis) Mitz and Michael Mitz; sister Lila (the late Joseph) Stern; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Goodman-Bensman Whitefish Bay Funeral Home handled arrangements. Rabbi Herbert Panitch officiated at the funeral on July 22. Burial was in Second Home Cemetery.

The family would appreciate memorial contributions to the Morry Mitz Caregiver Fund, care of the Southeastern Wisconsin Alzheimer & Other Dementias Association.

 
Beatrice Joy Smith
Beatrice Joy Smith, nee Trushinsky, of Brookfield died June 15. She was 83.

She was a Milwaukee native who graduated from North Division High School in 1946, and later attended the Waukesha County Technical College, graduating in 1981. She earned a degree as a “central service assistant” and worked in that capacity at Lakeview Hospital in Wauwatosa.

According to her family, she “was a woman whose passion was taking care of her husband, children, and home.”

She is survived by her husband, Max Smith; daughters Wendy Smith and Debra Smith, both of Milwaukee; and sons Mark Smith of Milwaukee and Gary Smith of New York City.

Goodman-Bensman Whitefish Bay Funeral Home handled arrangements. Rabbi Bernard Reichman officiated at the funeral on June 19. Burial was in Beth Hamedrosh Hagodel Cemetery.

 
Esther Florence Tarnof
Esther Florence Tarnof, nee Libow, of Glendale died June 21. She was 89.

She was born in Chicago and grew up in Milwaukee, graduating from North Division High School. She attended the Layton School of Art and graduated from the Spencerian Business College.

She worked for many years in different offices, including the Senior Adults Services Department at the Jewish Community Center, the office furniture firm Interplan, the art and framing store Nautilus, and the photography department at Gimbels department store.

However, according to her family, “she was truly an artist at heart.” She taught ceramics at her home and continued studying art at Cardinal Stritch College (now University) and the Milwaukee Area Technical College. She exhibited and sold artwork and jewelry in local shows, did needlepoint and custom framing of photographs and artwork.

She was a 15-year member of Women’s American ORT and was president of its Summit Chapter for two years.

She had a long-standing tradition of preparing a Sunday evening dinner for her family, which was featured in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel of May 5, 2002.

She is survived by daughter Madelaine (John Seymour) Yafet and son Bradley Tarnof; sister Chickie (the late Carl) Beyer; and three grandchildren.

Blane Goodman Funeral Service handled arrangements. Cantor Rebecca Robins officiated at the funeral on June 24. Burial was in Mound Zion Cemetery.

The family would appreciate memorial contributions to the Wisconsin Humane Society or Congregation Sinai.