Dr. Warren Bargad P'54, HC'59, MHL'65, of Gainesville, Fla., died June 25, 2003, at the age of 63. A native of Boston, he attended Boston Latin School, Hebrew College and Harvard University, and earned his PhD from Brandeis University. After teaching Hebrew literature at Hebrew Union College, he served as Milton Ratner Professor of Hebrew Literature and Dean of Spertus College of Judaica in Chicago. At the University of Florida, he was appointed Samuel Melton Professor of Jewish Studies and director of the Center for Jewish Studies in 1985, and he went on to establish the bachelor's degree program in Judaica studies there. In 1992, Hebrew College awarded him the Dr. Benjamin J. Shevach Memorial Award. The author of several articles and books, he coedited an award-winning anthology of Hebrew poetry in translation and recently coedited
No Sign of Ceasefire with Stanley F. Chyet (Skirball Cultural Center, 2002). He was a member of B'nai Israel Congregation and played the trumpet for many years in the Gainesville Community Band. He leaves his wife, Arlene Miller; his children, Adena Bargad of Gainesville and Robert Bargad of New York; and his sister, Charlotte Levine of Lake Worth, Fla.
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Rabbi Josiah Derby HC'36, of Coconut Creek, Fla., rabbi emeritus of the Rego Park Jewish Center in Queens, N.Y., and of Congregation Beth Shalom in Coconut Creek, died December 18, 2002, at the age of 88. He was instrumental in building both those synagogues. Born in Berditchev, Ukraine, he was a seventh-generation direct descendant of Rabbi Levi Yitzhak Berditchev, a prominent Hasidic spiritual leader, and had traced his lineage back 900 years through a long line of rabbis. He came to the United States in 1921 and earned bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics from Harvard University. During WWII, he served as a chaplain with the U.S. Armed Forces in Hawaii.
In 1956, he envisioned and helped found the Solomon Schechter School of Queens, one of the first Conservative day schools in the country. The success of the school inspired the creation of 71 Conservative Jewish day schools in the United States and Canada that are now part of the Solomon Schechter Day School network. In 1971, Rabbi Derby, who was ordained in 1943, was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Known for his progressive thinking and liberal politics, he was a biblical scholar and publisher of more than 40 articles in the Jewish Bible Quarterly.
Married for 64 years to
Bertha Reifel Derby HC'36, a former Hebrew teacher who died in March 2001, he is survived by his second wife, Adele Wolman Derby; his sons, Jeff and Rabbi Lavey Derby of Marin County, Calif.; five grandchildren; and sisters Julia and Anna and their families.
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Benjamin London P'36, HC'41, of Malden, died March 17, 2003. Owner of London Oil, a family business, and the commander of the Jewish War Veterans Post 74, he was a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School. Husband of the late Edith Fishlyn London, he leaves two sons,
Louis P'72 of Arlington Heights, Ill., and
Dr. Barry London P'75, HC'80, of Pittsburgh, Penn., and a brother, Myer London.
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Pauline Kravitz Shrier Mason HC'32, of Newton Centre, Mass., died on December 7, 2002, at the age of 91. Cherished by the Hebrew College community for her dedication to and passion for learning, she was Grand Marshal at the 2002 Hebrew College Commencement Exercises, proudly leading the processional. A 1934 graduate of Boston University College of Music, she taught music in the Boston public schools and was also a
Hebrew teacher. She published a translation of A. B. Yehoshua's story "The Last Commander" in
Present Tense magazine and in a collection published by Doubleday. Other translations were published in the
Jewish Spectator.
A concert pianist, Mrs. Shrier Mason hosted and performed at a number of alumni and Hebrew College Women's Association events. Her Steinway piano has been donated to the College by the family. An active community member, she also volunteered for 21 years with the Youth Concerts for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and was a Hadassah study group leader for 25 years. Active in the
Chug Ivri, she studied "for the love of it," auditing many courses. Wife of the late Dr. Hyman Shrier and the late Richard M. Mason, she leaves her sons, David Benjamin Shrier of Philadelphia, and Dr. Peter Reuben Shrier of Maine, six grandchildren and her sister,
Mildred Kravitz P'36, HC'54. Hebrew College is grateful to Mrs. Shrier Mason for her generous bequest and to the family for directing donations in her memory to the College.
Photograph by Randy Goodman
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Miriam Port Price Dpl'59, a former Hebrew teacher in Revere and Sharon, died August 11, 2003, at the age of 88. She attended Hebrew College while her son,
Myron P'59, attended the Prozdor, and they graduated together in 1959. She met her husband, Hillel, the former educational director at Temple B'nai Zion, through a Hebrew speaking club in Boston that he helped organize in the late 1930s. They both served on the Camp Yavneh staff. In Lithuania, Miriam attended a Catholic High School where, during her afternoon recess, she received religious instruction from Hebrew educators. She later trained as a registered nurse. At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, she worked as a practical nurse and later resided in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., with Hillel. In addition to her husband, she leaves two sons—Myron, who works in television in South Carolina, and
Kenneth P'63, HC'67, a clinical psychologist in Texas—as well as four grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Her family's legacy of Hebrew College graduates continues with niece
Libby Rotman Monias P'52, HC'56, and nephews
Paul Singer P'48, HC'52 and
Leon Singer P'44.
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Saul Richman P'36, HC'40, of Gainesville, Fla., died April 11, 2003, at the age of 84. He received his bachelor's degree with honors from Boston University, where he also was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and earned a Master of Social Work. He worked for the Zionist Youth Commission and served as the director of both the New Bedford Jewish Community Center and the Social Studies program in Waltham. With his wife,
Florence Miller Richman P'36, HC'40, he owned and directed Camp Mar-Ven, a camp for Jewish children on Cape Cod, for 18 years. In addition to his wife, he leaves two children—Stephen Richman of Westport and
Martha Richman Carroll P'63 and her husband Eric of Gainesville, Fla.—and a granddaughter, Jennifer Carroll of Boulder, Colo.
Photograph by Randy Goodman
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