Israel ‘Izzy’ Feldman
Israel “Izzy” Feldman, a serial IT entrepreneur, proud immigrant and strong supporter of Jewish causes, died on June 2. He was 86.
He was born in 1931 in Chernovitz, Romania, now in Ukraine, to an Orthodox Jewish family. His family had deep roots in the Chasidic movement and were direct descendants of the Chozeh M’Lublin, who brought the Chasidic movement to Poland. His Zionist family immigrated to Israel when he was 3 and he grew up in Tel Aviv.
He was proud of his participation in the youth movement supporting the Haganah and at 19 served in the Israeli Air Force during the War of Independence, building communication towers and supervising 50 soldiers. His family later housed and supported relatives who moved to Israel after surviving the Holocaust.
He received a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering and mechanical engineering from the Technion in 1955. Following his graduation, Feldman received the Benjamin Cooper Fellowship to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received a master in science degree in industrial management.
Feldman also studied at the Harvard School of Applied Math and The New School for Social Research.
Feldman married Judith Feldman in 1958. They had three sons, Dan, Joel and Ron.
Feldman started his career in the 1950s with information technology pioneers, including Honeywell, MITRE and Univac. He transitioned to senior level IT-related positions in the federal government. In the 1970s, he began creating organizations offering media, training and conference services to connect private sector providers with government users.
He founded Government Computer News, which he sold to Ziff-Davis in the 1980s, and E-Gov which he sold to 101 Communications in 2001.
Feldman was the first Technion graduate to become a Guardian and receive an honorary doctorate. He was on the Board of Governors of the Technion, where he endowed the chair of the Computer Department.
He also supported Camp Ramah and Hadassah, co-founded the Hi-Tech Division of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, was the chair of Israel Bonds and received the Chabad Lamplighter Award.
Feldman was a member of B’nai Israel Congregation in Rockville.
He married Sharon Doner in 2008.
In addition to his wife, his sons and the mother of his sons, he is survived by eight grandchildren: Isaiah, Gabe, Talia, Ethan, Eli, Sadie, Jed and Ilan. He is also survived by his sister, Shoshanah, in Israel.
Harold Lake
Harold Lake of Bethesda, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, great-uncle, cousin and restauranteur, died June 8. He was 88.
Lake was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was the eldest of two sons born to the late David and Lillian Lake (née Panster).
Lake created, owned and ran the Zebra Room restaurant for 35 years. He served pizza to local families, the Washington Redskins, 1980 presidential candidate John Anderson, Supreme Court justices and Speaker of the House Carl Albert.
Family was of the utmost importance to Harold. His loving wife of 67 years, Anna Peltin Lake, died in April. Together they raised four boys: Gary (who died in 1973), Steven, Bradley and Richard.
In addition to his sons, he is survived by eight grandchildren, Gregory, Ryan, Devin, Jillian, Marisa, Ben, Gabriel and Ellie; daughters-in-law Maureen and Lisa; son-in-law William; his brother, Jerry, and sister-in-law, Freida; sisters-in-law Shirley and Sandee. He is predeceased by his brother-in-law Izzy.
Arrangements by Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.
Janice F. Mason
Janice F. Mason, of Silver Spring, died on May 31.
Born in 1929 in Pittsburgh, she was the loving wife of the late David Mason and beloved mother of Melinda (Peter) McArdle, Adam (Shannon) Mason, Jodi (Gary) Cohen and the late Garry Mason; cherished grandmother of Sara, Zac, Amanda, Matt, Jack and Shea.
Mason had a creative soul, spending her early years as a singer and entertainer. She was a talented artist, a beautiful pianist, great cook and excelled in her party planning business and was a visionary in a start-up cellular business.
Mason’s most fulfilling years were as a mother, grandmother and aunt. Her family made her very proud and filled her heart with joy.
Contributions may be made to Montgomery Hospice. Arrangements by Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.
Milton Siegel
Milton Siegel, of Silver Spring, died on June 4. He was 90.
He was the beloved husband of Sylvia, who died in 2014; loving father of Marci (George) Ward and cherished grandfather of Christopher.
Donations may be made to Montgomery Hospice. Arrangements by Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.
Beverly Zeidenberg
Beverly Zeidenberg, of Rockville, died on June 8.
She was the beloved wife of the late Leonard Zeidenberg; devoted mother of Peter (Angela) Zeidenberg, Erica (Rob Glidden) Zeidenberg and Elizabeth (Tom) Singer; and loving sister of Arline Newman. She is also survived by seven grandchildren.
Contributions may be made to Montgomery Hospice. Arrangements by Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.
Emanuel Zolt
Emanuel Zolt, of Silver Spring, died on June 4. He was the beloved husband of Janet Zolt; devoted father of Ed Zolt (Andrea
Glashow) and Jeff (Andrea) Zolt, and also survived by loving grandchildren Danny Zolt, Abby Zolt, Noah Zolt and Dominic Zolt.
Contributions may be made to a charity of choice. Arrangements by Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.
Otto Warmbier, U.S. student detained in North Korea, dies
Otto Warmbier, an American student who was held in North Korea for over 17 months and returned home comatose to Ohio last week, has died. He was 22.
“It is our sad duty to report that our son, Otto Warmbier, has completed his journey home,” Warmbier’s family told ABC News on Monday. “Surrounded by his loving family, Otto died today at 2:20 p.m.”
The Cincinnati native and University of Virginia undergraduate was traveling on a student tour of North Korea last year when he was arrested and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for taking down a propaganda poster.
When he was released last week in a coma, doctors said that all regions of Warmbier’s brain had suffered extensive damage.
“It would be easy at a moment like this to focus on all that we lost — future time that won’t be spent with a warm, engaging, brilliant young man whose curiosity and enthusiasm for life knew no bounds,” the family said in a statement. “But we choose to focus on the time we were given to be with this remarkable person.”
JTA reported last week that Warmbier was active at the University of Virginia Hillel after participating in a Birthright trip to Israel in 2014.
The university’s Hillel director, Rabbi Jake Rubin, called him “a beloved member of our Hillel community.”
