Obituaries

Kenneth Lachter

Kenneth Tobin Lachter of Vancouver, British Columbia, died Feb. 18, 2001. He was 57. He was the brother of Sidney Lachter of Scottsdale. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and moved to Vancouver more than 30 years ago.

Other survivors include his mother, Betty of Vancouver; and brother, Shale of Vancouver.

Services were in Vancouver. Contributions are suggested to Har Zion Congregation, 6140 E. Thunderbird Road, Scottsdale 85254.

Shirley Shopnick

Shirley Shopnick of Peoria died March 15, 2001. She was 79. She was born in Detroit and moved to Arizona eight years ago from Michigan. She was a retired secretary for United Hebrew Schools in Detroit.

Survivors include her husband, Milton; daughters, Fae Ghormley of Peoria and Rinah Wechsler of Las Vegas; son, Mark of Cave Creek; and three grandchildren.

Services were held at Sunland Memorial Park, with Rabbi Alan W. Bright officiating. Arrangements were by Sinai Mortuary.

Alex Simons

Alex Simons of Scottsdale died March 17, 2001. He was 84. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and moved to Arizona 28 years ago. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was a founding member of The Men's League, now known as the Scottsdale League for the Arts. He served on the Scottsdale Fine Arts Commission and the board of the Scottsdale Symphony Orchestra.

Survivors include his wife, Bella; daughter, Donna Perline of Wichita, Kan.; sons, Ross of Alexandria, Va., and Steven of Wellesley, Mass.; sister, Gussie Sussman of Akron, Ohio; and five grandchildren.

Arrangements were by Mesa Heritage Mortuary. Contributions are suggested to the Scottsdale Symphony Orchestra, 3817 N. Brown Ave., Scottsdale 85251.

William Silverman

William B. Silverman of Scottsdale died March 19, 2001. He was 87. He was born in Altoona, Penn. He was ordained as a rabbi in 1941, and served congregations in Battle Creek, Mich.; Gastonia, N.C.; Duluth, Minn.; Nashville; Kansas City, Mo.; and Palm Desert, Calif.

Survivors include his sons, Joel of Richmond, Va., and Eldon of Denver; brother, J. Sheldon of Cleveland; and five grandchildren.

Services will be held in Kansas City. Arrangements were by Louis Memorial Chapel. Contributions are suggested to Temple B'nai Jehudah, 712 E. 69th St., Kansas City, MO 64131.

Cyrils Gutstein

Cyrils S. Gutstein of Mesa died March 20, 2001. He was 79. He was born in Chicago and moved to Arizona 10 years ago from Wisconsin. He was a retired owner of a clothing store and an auxiliary police officer for 50 years.

Survivors include his wife, Cecilia of Humble, Texas; daughters, Shirlyn Otman of Chandler, Sandra Schoenecker of Brookfield, Wis., and Debra of Humble; son, Bernie Larson of Cape Coral, Fla.; sisters, Faye Lapedus of Yuma, Estelle Goldberg and Goldine Strauss, both of Milwaukee, Wis.; brother, Irv Gutstein of Canoga Park, Calif.; eight grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Services were held at Sinai Mortuary Chapel, with Rabbi Andrew Straus officiating. Arrangements were by Sinai Mortuary.

Simon Kastner

Simon Kastner of Phoenix died March 20, 2001. He was born in Duisberg, Germany and was a retired social security administrator and window trimmer.

Survivors include his wife, Beatrice; daughter, Judy of New York City; son, Jeff of Phoenix; and two grandchildren.

Services were held at Sinai Mortuary Chapel, with Rabbi Albert Plotkin officiating. Arrangements were by Sinai Mortuary. Contributions are suggested to American Cancer Society, 2929 E. Thomas Road, Phoenix 85016.

Ben Charnofsky

Ben Charnofsky, 72,of Phoenix, passed away March 16, 2001. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and moved with his family to Phoenix during the 1940s. He and his wife, Joan, saw Phoenix grow from a small town to a large metropolis during their nearly 50 years of marriage. He served in the Air Force and worked for 35 years for Allied Signal (Honeywell). He also was a skilled mechanic and a craftsman in furniture building and home improvement. He is remembered for his dedication to family, kindness, generosity, hard work and sense of humor.

Survivors include his wife, Joan; son, Michael of Matawan, NJ; daughter, Korene Charnofsky-Cohen of Tucson; brothers Isadore Charns of Pinchurst, NC, Sol Charnofsky of Phoenix and Harvey Charnofsky of Sebastopol, CA; and granddaughter, Michelle Stein of Matawan, NJ.

Contributions in his memory are requested to the National Parkinson Foundation, 222 W. Thomas Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85013 or the American Heart Association, 2929 S. 48th St., Tempe, AZ 85282. Services were held at Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery, Garden of Abraham. Arrangements were made by Sinai Mortuary.

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