Jerome Kenneth (Ken) Elbaum passed on March 23. Ken was born in 1930, in Glen Cove, N.Y. to Max and Molly Elbaum. He had two sisters, Beatrice (Bea) Miller and Sylvia Richman, who predeceased him. He is survived by Lenora (Libby), his wife of 57 years. He is also survived by two sons, Daniel and Jonathan; daughter, Martha; and by three grandchildren, Emma and Lily Elbaum and Charlotte Williamson. In addition, he is survived by his sister-in-law, Rosalind Gray and brother-in-law, Fred Richman. He graduated from the University of Missouri at Rolla with a degree in metallurgical engineering and completed work towards his master’s degree at Purdue University and Ohio State. He worked as a civilian and retired from a 25-year career at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He loved golf, skiing, sailing, wood working, and travel. He was a longtime member of the congregation of Temple Israel in Dayton. Ken was known for his quick wit, booming laugh, and skill at word games. He was the family Scrabble champion. He often asserted questionable “facts.” When asked about their veracity, his reply was, “If you don’t know, I’m sure.” Interment was at Temple Israel cemetery. Please consider a donation to Temple Israel, Beth Jacob, Jewish Family Services, or the charity of your choice.

Lois Helaine (Levine) Harris, formerly of Dayton, died on March 1 in West Palm Beach, Fla. at the age of 86. She was born on July 23, 1938, in Bay City, Mich. She is survived by her son William (Julie) Harris and her daughter Julie (David) Buckner, seven grandchildren: Caitlin Harris, Andrew (Debra Cohen) Levine, Christian (Stephanie) Buckner, Jillian (Charles Giffin) Harris, Cameron (Nichole Rakoczy) Harris, Adam (Brooke) Buckner, and Alec Buckner; and eight great-grandchildren: Theodore Harris, Lucas Buckner, Olivia Buckner, Calvin Harris, Elizabeth Buckner, Joshua Levine-Cohen, Charles Buckner, and Margo Buckner. She also was survived by friend and companion Kuddythamby “Thamby” Sinnathamby. She was preceded in death by her husband, Herbert Harris; her parents, Jerome and Beatrice (Schmerin) Levine; her sister, Carol (Levine) McBride; and grandson, Joshua Levine. Interment was at Riverview Cemetery. Lois married her husband, Herb Harris, on Oct. 20, 1957. They moved to Dayton, where they raised their children, Julie and Bill. Lois worked for years as the office manager for the medical practice of her good friend, Dr. Charlie Knoll. Several years after Herb passed away in 2000, Lois renewed her friendship with Thamby. Lois and Thamby spent winters together in North Fort Myers, Fla., starting in 2010. They cherished their time together for the past 17 years. Renowned for her ingenuity, sense of humor, and intellect, she will be missed by all who knew her. The family suggests a contribution to Temple Judea, 4311 Hood Rd., Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410, or Temple Israel, 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton, OH, 45405.

Larry N. Sokol, 78 of Lake Oswego, Ore., died suddenly in his beloved home of 50 years on Feb. 1. For his wide-ranging network of close family, friends, and esteemed colleagues, the loss of him is deeply felt. “He never let anyone out of his orbit once they entered,” his partner Martha Spinhirne reflected. Born Sept. 28, 1946 in Dayton to Mr. and Mrs. Boris Sokol, Larry went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he joined the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity and graduated in 1964. Later, while attending Case Western Reserve University School of Law, at a party, on a whim, Larry booked a plane ride that same night to Portland, Ore. After landing, he purchased professional attire and then brought a freshly hand-typed resume to Salem, where a series of judges rejected him for courtship positions, including the then-chief, who crumpled the document and tossed it at him. Fortunately, he smoothed out the paper and headed downstairs, where he peeked into the office of the Hon. Herbert Schwab, chief justice for the Oregon Court of Appeals. As it happened, the two shared a love of tennis, which proved helpful; a few weeks later, Larry learned he’d been hired. In 1971, Larry earned his J.D. He discovered his true calling in the law and went on to have a formidable career spanning many decades, ending only a month before his passing. Early in his practice, he litigated high-profile environmental cases, helping block harmful pesticide and herbicide spraying. Later, he established himself as a skilled, compassionate medical malpractice and personal injury attorney who worked tirelessly on behalf of his clients. He was known for the warm relationships he formed with them, along with the defense bar, the plaintiffs’ bar, and countless medical professionals. Larry was inducted into the acclaimed American College of Trial Lawyers in 2010, became a distinguished adjunct professor at Lewis & Clark Law School, and was nominated to Super Lawyers.

One of his favorite places was the ocean waters of Hawaii, where he snorkeled alongside pods of turtles and schools of fish. At home in Oregon, he enjoyed playing with his beloved O scale trains and coached dozens of kids’ teams in baseball and soccer, making a point of drafting players who needed extra help with their skills. With each bit of progress his children made, with every hit and successful kick, Larry shared in their joy, and he carried those memories for the rest of his days. For all who loved him, it’s difficult to imagine a world without Larry’s geniality and humor. In the opening scene of his favorite book, The Wind in the Willows, with spring arriving, Mole cleans furiously until compelled, finally, to clamber out of his underground home. “Up we go!” The tiny creature declares, who then “scraped and scratched and scrabbled and scrolled” until he “found himself in the warm grass of the great meadow.” Better for having known Larry, we must tunnel upward, carrying his goodness with us, making our way toward the light, just as he would want it. Up we go. Larry is survived by his partner, Martha Spinhirne; children, Maxwell Sokol and Addie Hahn; grandsons, Oslo and Ansel Hahn; son-in-law Andrew Hahn; sister Nora Newsock; brother-in-law Bob Newsock; niece Amy Newsock, and nephew-in-law Adam Oakley. Memorial donations may be made to the Anti-Defamation League, Clackamas County Little League, and St. Jude Hospital.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Jeanne Betty Weiner at the age of 104 on Dec. 22. When we say that Jeanne Betty lived one of the fullest lives we can imagine, it’s tempting to attribute that simply to her longevity. It’s not every day you hear about someone passing at the age of 104 and think they might have gone too soon. But the fullness of Jeanne Betty’s existence was far more than her century of life on the planet. It was the joy, optimism, and love that she brought to every room she walked into, and every person she met, who she would always greet with her customary, “How do you do?” Born in Dayton on April 7, 1920 to Pauline and Lester Rothenberg, Jeanne Betty was fully suited to the family of entertainers who brought her up. From childhood, she had a knack for making people around her feel both welcome and important. She attended Northwestern University in Chicago, a town she always felt a deep affection for, and studied television at a time when the medium was just barely off the ground. She would spend her life as a performer, whether it was starring in commercials and her own TV show, playing leads in summer stock productions, singing with the popular vocal group The Daytones, or simply regaling friends and family with stories that captured her era. It was during the Second World War when Jeanne Betty met the man she would marry, when her family hosted a party and invited a few army officers. Someone told Jeanne Betty that there was “a handsome young lieutenant playing piano downstairs.” When Jeanne Betty approached the pianist, he stood up to greet her and said, “Sing something for me.” Jeanne Betty married Sidney Weiner in 1944. They were married for 67 years. But what Jeanne Betty was most committed to, the North Star she always pointed toward, was family. And that family wasn’t just her own. No matter how distant the relative, or how long ago the friendship, she would make an effort to let people know they were remembered and still held a place in her heart. She was enormously proud of the work she did in pulling together the funds and resources to feed over 3,000 of Dayton’s homeless annually at Elder-Beerman’s Thanksgiving, and she was known by children throughout the city as Mother Goose, a role she played in Dayton’s annual Kinder Concerts. She also coproduced the Dayton Holiday Festival, which ran annually over three months in Dayton, and she put on numerous performances with her husband Sid and daughters Wendy and Lori to benefit organizations in Dayton and Southwest Florida.

Jeanne Betty had a deep love of both her hometown of Dayton and her adopted home of Sarasota, Fla. For decades, she and Sidney would divide their time between the two, becoming fixtures in both communities. After Sidney’s passing in 2011, Jeanne Betty remained a vibrant presence in Sarasota and would frequently travel to visit family members well into her late 90s. In 2022, Jeanne Betty took on one of her most extraordinary challenges—moving to a new country at the age of 102. Her daughter Wendy asked her, “Mom, do you think you have one more big adventure left in you?” Jeanne Betty’s response would be little surprise to anyone who knew her: “Boy, do I!” That summer, she moved to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where she would live the rest of her life. As with everywhere else she went, she became a fixture of the community, and people would regularly greet her and kiss her on the cheek during her daily visits to Parque Juarez.

Words do little justice to the kind of brilliant life force and extraordinary goodwill Jeanne Betty brought to the world. Simply being in her presence made you feel better about yourself. Our sense of loss at her departure is matched only by the profound gratitude we all share at having such a beautiful soul in our lives.
Jeanne Betty is survived by her daughter Wendy Bichel (San Miguel de Allende, Mexico); her sons Randall Weiner (Boulder, Colo.) and Tony Weiner (Eureka, Calif.); her grandchildren Alex Bichel (Miami); Nicholas Fox (Worcester, Mass.); Alexandra Fox (Los Angeles); Aaron Weiner (Salt Lake City); and Elijah Weiner (Chicago); as well as her great-grandchildren, Sabrina and Marcus Bichel (Miami).

Funeral services will be held on Sunday, April 6 at 11 a.m. at Beth Abraham Cemetery Chapel, 1817 W. Schantz Ave., Kettering. Notes to the family may be sent to Randall Weiner, Randall@weinercording.com, for distribution. Jeanne Betty would want donations sent to your favorite charity, but you may recall her popular song, written for the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton and performed with her husband Sid: That Guy Should Give More.

To read the complete April 2025 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.