Obituaries

Robert A. Berkowitz of Surprise died April 30, 2005. He was 64. He was born in the Bronx, N.Y., and moved to Arizona from New Jersey 31 years ago. He was a retired systems analyst. He served in the U.S. Army.

Survivors include his wife, Diane; daughter, Holly Betzer of Surprise; son, Jeffrey of Phoenix; sister, Judith Underwood of Glen Gardner, Nev.; and one grandchild.

Services were held at National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona. Arrangements were made by Sinai Mortuary.

Contributions are suggested to Banner Thunderbird Medical Center, Pediatric Emergency Room, 5555 W. Thunderbird Road, Glendale 85306.

Matilda Kaplan

Matilda Kaplan of Scottsdale died April 30, 2005. She was 100. She was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and moved to Arizona from Ohio in 2004. She was a retired merchant of retail furniture.

Survivors include her daughters, Joan Siegel of Scottsdale, Bette Thompson of Hagerstown, Md., and Judy Davison of Dana Point, Calif.; sisters, Rose Danzinger of Tucson and Isabella Fine of Evansville, Ind.; brother, Ernie Nadelstein of Boynton Beach, Fla.; nine grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

Private services are planned. Arrangements were made by Sinai Mortuary.

Aziz Ghanooni

Aziz Ghanooni of Phoenix died May 2, 2005. He was 89. He was born in Iran and moved to Arizona 29 years ago. He was a retired director of transportation for the Iran Department of Health.

Survivors include his wife, Behjat; daughters, Fay Behboodi and Fereshteh, both of Phoenix; son, Rony; sister, Behjat Cohan of Los Angeles; brothers, Rayhan of Los Angeles and Hasham of Iran; and two grandchildren.

Services were held at Beth El Cemetery, with Rabbi Arthur Lavinsky officiating. Arrangements were made by Sinai Mortuary.

Frieda Firetag

Frieda Firetag of Phoenix died May 1, 2005. She was 92. She was born in Russia and moved to Arizona from New York in 1977. She was a retired bookkeeper. She was a member of B'nai B'rith.

Survivors include her daughter, Madeline Lizt of Larchmont, N.Y.; son, Jules of Phoenix; sister, Betty Pekofsky of New Jersey; and four grandchildren.

Services were held at Beth El Cemetery, with Rabbi Arthur Lavinsky officiating. Arrangements were made by Sinai Mortuary.

Milton Levine

Milton M. Levine of Phoenix died April 29, 2005. He was 78. He was born in New York City and moved to Arizona in 1960. He was a liquor merchant.

Survivors include his sisters, Beatrice Cohen of Phoenix and Sylvia Blatt of Boca Raton, Fla.

Services were held at Beth Israel Cemetery, with Rabbi Irwin Wiener officiating. Arrangements were made by Sinai Mortuary.

Lawrence Crantz

Lawrence Crantz, 73, of Scottsdale, Arizona, died May 2, 2005. He lived in Detroit, Michigan for 51 years and was founder and CEO of LDM Acceptance Corporation.

Larry is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 52 years, Marilyn and his beloved children Deborah (Dr. Barry) Wiss, Jacqueline (Dr. Marc) Kay, Melinda (Uri) Shemesh, all of Paradise Valley, Arizona and David (Tamara) Crantz of Scottsdale, Arizona. He is also survived by his sister and brother-in-law, Joy and Louis Landau of Oak Park, Michigan and brother and sister-in-law, Drs. Frank and Joanne Crantz of Potomac, Maryland. Larry was also blessed with seven adoring grandchildren, Michael and Zachary Wiss, Rachel and Joshua Kay, Rebecca and Ariel Shemesh, and Andrew Crantz.

Graveside funeral services were held Wednesday, May 4th at Mt. Sinai Cemetery in Phoenix. Contributions in Larry's memory can be made to the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science at 7975 N. Hayden Road, Suite #A-108, Scottsdale, Arizona 85258 or the charity of your choice.

Phil Prager

Phil Prager, passed away 4/26/2005. The following quotes were recently overheard at a gathering of Phil Prager's family and close friends: "Grandpa Phil was the greatest Grandpa in the whole wide world!" "Grandpa always had treats (usually lollipops) for us" - "Dad would like to be remembered as a respected Actor and Generous Philanthropist" - "Phil loved the Arts/ Theatre - Especially Musicals, Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand and Elizabeth Taylor" - "He was Phenomenal and Unbelievable" - "Phil never said Good Bye - He said So Long - so, So Long Phil" - "He was a romantic and celebrated our love relationship monthly not annually" - "Phil took pride in his work and in working hard" - "His Favorite Color was Purple" - "He was a Gentle Man" - "He enjoyed culminating a deal and coming out on top" - "He enjoyed being with his family" - "He Enjoyed dining" - I think we should use the following traditional obituary: "Phil was born on April 27, 1933, in the Bronx and shortly thereafter, moved to Brooklyn. Early in 1942, his family moved to New Jersey. Phil went on to study in the Newark Public Schools where he excelled in the College Prep Program and was a Letterman in Basketball at Barringer High School. In 1952, Phil was Drafted and served in the U.S. Army, serving in an intelligence unit. After serving his two years in the Armed Forces, Phil entered the business world. Over the next twenty years, he rose to the ranks of Regional Sales Manager for Motorola and Zenith Corporations. Over the last ten years, Phil was a Regional Sales Director for leading motivational speakers in major markets.

Phil leaves three sons: Jeffrey of Tempe, Mitch (Andra) of Cave Creek; Glen of Burbank, California, a brother, Richard (Sheila) of Phoenix, two beloved granddaughters, Hannah and Tara, his beloved Companion, Judith Weiss, many nieces and nephews, and four extended grand-daughters.

In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to The American Diabetes Association. Arrangements by Sinai Mortuary.

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