Obituaries Lawrence E. (Larry) Cooper Norfolk—Lawrence Elliott (Larry) Cooper of Norfolk and Sunny Isles Beach, Florida passed peacefully into the presence of God at the Beth Sholom Village in Virginia Beach on November 10, 2020. Born March 1, 1931 in New York City, he was the son of the late Max and Rose Cooper. Larry was a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in New York and a graduate of NYU. He began to learn the intricacies of business as a young man in his father’s stationary store on Park Avenue near their home and was an entrepreneur as well. Larry was a proud veteran having served in both the United States Army and the United States Air Force. Following military service, Larry’s decades long career was in the retail field with the Chicago based Montgomery-Ward Company in which he rose to prominence as a National Merchandise Manager until his retirement in 2003. After braving many Chicago winters, Larry relocated to Sunny Isles Beach, Florida before coming to spend his last years with his wife Cindy in Norfolk. In addition to his parents, Larry was pre deceased by his sister, Isabelle and his first wife, Elaine Dixler Cooper. Left to cherish his memory are his wife Cynthia Coureas Cooper, his brothers-in-law Donald J. Coureas (Loretta) and J. Chris Coureas (Patricia), nephews Christopher T. Coureas, H. Alexander Coureas, John A. Coureas, Justin M. Coureas (Jin) and grandnieces and grandnephews. A private graveside service was officiated by Cantor David Proser. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Larry’s family wishes to express their gratitude to the compassionate and caring staff of the Ballentine senior facility in Norfolk. Thanks also to the attentive staff of Beth Sholom Village and Freda H. Gordon Hospice care. Donations in Larry’s name to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or Beth Sholom Village. Online condolences may be shared with the family at www.hdoliver.com. Donald S. Jacobs Boynton Beach, Florida—With heavy hearts, we announce the death of Donald S Jacobs, who passed away on
November 6, 2020 at the age of 89. Family and friends are welcome to send flowers or leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. He was loved and cherished by many people including: his daughters, Shelley Frazier (Jack) and Brenda Simon; his grandchildren, Ryan, Kyle, Brittany, Sean, Rebecca and Lindsey; and his great grandchild Margot. A memorial service was held at the Rubin Memorial Chapel in Boynton Beach, Florida.
Dr. Morris “Mendy” Fine Palo Alto, Calif.—Dr. Morris “Mendy” Fine, 94, a retired pediatrician and longterm resident of Buffalo, NY before spending his final years in Palo Alto, Calif., died Friday, November 20, 2020. He was born July 12, 1926, in Norfolk, Va. to Charles Harry and Celia Fine. Mendy was the sixth of seven children. His siblings included five sisters and one brother, and he was the younger of his parents’ two sons and the second youngest of their seven children. Following graduation from Maury High School in Norfolk, Va., Mendy served as a sonar technician in the U.S. Navy during World War II and would often tell his children on their birthdays that he celebrated his 19th birthday in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a navy ship. Each of Mendy’s siblings remained in Virginia into adulthood while Mendy embarked to Salt Lake City, Utah for a medical internship after completing his bachelor’s and medical degrees at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Before moving to Utah, he married Gloria Stein (1931–2016) in 1953, the same day he graduated from Medical School. They then moved from Salt Lake City to Salina, Utah where he was a family physician. It was in Salina that Gloria gave birth to the first two of their five daughters. Mendy and Gloria moved to Buffalo, NY in 1958 for Mendy to pursue a pediatric residency after which he built an active private pediatric practice over several decades before retiring in the early 1990s. Mendy and Gloria were active in Jewish and synagogue life. Mendy would chant the Kiddush over wine at Shabbat dinner on Friday evenings
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and bring his children to synagogue on Saturday mornings. Mendy’s daughters remember plenty of Saturdays following Shabbat morning services where he would check on his newborns and young patients at Children’s Hospital in downtown Buffalo while his own younger children would wait in the hospital library surrounded by dog-eared medical journals. Mendy and Gloria’s travels included Caribbean cruises by themselves and car trips with their children that included a six-week cross-country trip in the late 1960s and frequent visits to Mendy’s Virginia-based parents, his siblings and their children. These trips to Virginia included trips to Virginia Beach, which Mendy’s children particularly enjoyed. Mendy and Gloria would often pack their children into a station wagon a few times a year to drive across the Canadian border to Toronto, Ontario, where they would purchase large quantities of Kosher meat and baked goods for later storage in the family’s second freezer in the basement. On one special family trip Mendy and Gloria brought their children to Israel to celebrate Passover in 1972. After Mendy and Gloria divorced, Mendy married Edith Pierce (1926-2018) in 1986. Mendy and Edith regularly attended synagogue services and participated in an active synagogue life that included Mendy frequently reading from the Torah on Shabbat mornings, and serving as the synagogue mohel for many years. They took several international trips, visiting every continent except Antarctica, and were active domestic travelers in their RV. It was also during these years that Mendy took up distance running. He would often tell people that he ran two marathons in a single day--his first and his last. Mendy also enjoyed playing racquetball at the Jewish Community Center of Buffalo. Mendy moved to Palo Alto in 2015 to be near his daughter Naomi following his separation from Edith. During these years he took special pleasure in being an active participant in synagogue life which included daily early morning Torah and Talmud study before 7am Shacharit services. He especially enjoyed Naomi’s homemade and delicious Shabbat dinners, which gave everyone a chance to visit and
catch up on the week’s learning and events. Morris Fine is survived by his daughters Debra Fine (Dr. Steven Tilliss) of Greenwood, Col., Naomi Fine (Kathy Levinson) of Palo Alto, Judith Zahn (Gary Zahn) of Hewlett, N.Y., Dr. Terri Susan Fine (Paul Stenzler) of Orlando, Fla., Dr. Elisabeth Fine of Somerville, Mass., his sister Thelma Fine Oser of Norfolk, four grandchildren, three great grandchildren and six step-grandchildren. Donations in memory of Dr. Morris Fine may be made to Emek Beracha (www.emekberacha.org), or by sending a check to Emek Beracha, 3790 El Camino Real (Box 2015), Palo Alto, CA 94306, or Congregation Kol Emeth, 4175 Manuela Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306.
Susan Katz Norfolk—Susan Katz, née Feuerstein, passed away on Saturday, November 14, 2020. The daughter of Nathan Feuerstein and Lillian Nelson, Susan was a Norfolk native. She was born at Norfolk General Hospital and attended Norfolk public schools, graduating from Maury High School in 1964. She received her nursing degree from the School of Professional Nursing at Norfolk General. She worked as a pediatric nurse at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters before moving over to the Labor and Delivery Unit at Norfolk General for the remainder of her career. She delighted in assisting with thousands of births at the hospital and took special joy in delivering the babies of adults whom she had delivered at their births. In 1967, she married, and was later divorced from, Robert Katz with whom she had two children. In the late 1990s, Susan created a childbirth education business and billed herself as the “Stork Lady,” where she worked with hundreds of couples preparing for delivery. She also served as an expert medical witness and was a trained bereavement counselor. In her retirement, Susan volunteered at Jewish Family Service and at Ohef Sholom Temple’s Soup Kitchen. She also took classes in Jewish education from the Melton Adult Education program. Susan was extremely lucky to have many lifelong friendships through her Maj Johng family and Sister’s Group.
