Mabel Lou Becker, age 89, passed away on April 3. Mabel was born in Chillicothe, next to the railroad tracks where her father, a railroad man and great storyteller, inspired in her a life of adventures where she could follow her dreams. Through hard work and determination, Mabel received her nursing degree from the Jewish Hospital School of Nursing. While training to be a nurse, she met the love of her life, Louis Becker, M.D. Mabel and Lou were married in 1957 in Cincinnati. They were married 55 years. They had four children, Wendy, Marc, David, and Julie, who gave Mabel seven amazing grandchildren, Miriam, Elyse, Cameron, Griffin, Reagan, Tucker, and Erica. Immediately after their wedding, Mabel and her husband drove to California where they settled in Glendale. In Glendale, Mabel was the assistant head nurse in the nursery at Los Angeles County General Hospital. They moved back to Cincinnati for a year. From there they moved to Bosier City, La. and eventually settled in Dayton. Mabel and Lou raised their children in Trotwood. The couple retired in New Albany, where she was able to be a part of her grandchildren’s lives.

Throughout her life, Mabel loved traveling with her husband, and they were able to travel to most of the places on their bucket list, including Israel, Russia, Europe, Turkey, Peru, and Hawaii. Mabel had the honor of travelling with other women lawyers to China where she learned the meaning of the Prince Charles Rule, and came back with great stories to share with friends and family. Mabel began her volunteer career with B’nai Brith Women in Dayton, organizing many philanthropic activities and holding several leadership roles. She was also a Girl Scout leader. During the turbulent civil rights movement of the 1960s, Mabel’s intelligence and drive to help others led her to become a civil rights advocate where she participated in neighborhood canvassing for voter registration and led grade school lessons to combat racism. When her volunteer activities spread to fighting redlining and advocating for fair housing, she founded THROB (To Help Races Overcome Barriers), Inc. She was also a founder of the Jewish-Christian Dialogue group. During this time, she became interested in a law career.

She attended University of Dayton Law School from 1977 to 1980, when only a few women were practicing law in Dayton, and her class had less than 10% women. Based on the lack of female role models in the area, at the end of her first year of law school, Mabel organized a road trip to Atlanta to attend the First Annual Conference on Women in the Law with several classmates. She felt honored to meet one of the presenters, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, long before she became a Supreme Court Judge. Following RBG in Atlanta, Mabel attended the March for the ERA in Washington, D.C. in July 1978, along with 100,000 other women. Mabel was determined to live long enough to see the passage of the ERA but was comforted by convincing her granddaughters to take up the cause. After graduating from law school and passing the bar exam, Mabel cofounded the first all-women’s law firm in the area, Henley, Vaughn, Becker & Wald, focusing on juvenile and family law.

While working with families in turmoil, Mabel found her calling helping juveniles, which led to a position as a magistrate judge in Montgomery County Juvenile Court, where she presided until she retired. During her law career, in addition to founding the Miami Valley Association of Women Attorneys, she volunteered at numerous organizations including the Battered Women’s Shelter, the Montgomery County Citizens Review Board, the Dayton Women’s Network, Child Advocacy of Ohio, and Daybreak. She also developed and presented nursing and the law seminars. Her lifetime of dedicated advocacy to make the world a better place for minorities, women, and children was recognized when she was honored by the Dayton Daily News in 1986 as one of the Ten Top Women of the year. Mabel died in her home surrounded by loved ones on April 3. She was preceded in death by her husband, Louis Becker, and her son, David Becker. Interment was at Greenlawn Cemetery, Columbus. In Mabel’s memory, please vote for Democrats. Please honor Mabel’s legacy with a donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center or the ACLU.

Delbert I. Footer passed away April 14 at the age of 95. He was a lifelong resident of Dayton, as he wanted to remain where most of his family resided. Family always came first for Del. He was a wonderful and devoted son, father, grandfather, and uncle. Del served in the Army during the Korean Conflict. He graduated from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn with a degree in industrial design. He went on to establish, chair, and teach industrial design at the Dayton Art Institute before turning to industry as design director for Digitec. He consulted on many projects as well, including an artificial heart, orthoscopic instruments, and remote machinery for worker safety with nuclear materials at Los Alamos. Del established a scholarship at Pratt to help aspiring industrial design students. Del will be greatly missed by his family and many friends and will be remembered for his kindness, humor, intelligence, and positivity. Del was preceded in death by his parents, Maurice and Katherine Footer, his sister Marilyn Footer Scher, and his son-in-law, Sam Yacovazzi. He is survived by his brother, Larry (Hope) Footer, his daughter, Jill Yacovazzi, grandchildren Taylor and Cole Yacovazzi, as well as beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins. Interment was at Beth Jacob Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton, Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Dayton, or the charity of your choice.

Lillian Ruth Ohlbaum, age 94 of Beavercreek, passed away April 5. The beloved wife of the late Dr. Morton Ohlbaum, she is survived by daughters and sons-in-law Karen and Mitchell Rashkin, and Lori and John Westerkamp, and grandchildren Lee, Sara, Hannah, Rachel (Alex), and Jacob. Lillian created a warm and loving home, and she will always be remembered with love. Memorial contributions may be made to Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton or the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton, or an animal welfare organization of your choice.

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