In Memoriam

David Sandor

Obituary

Los Angeles Times

September 18, 2019

David Lawrence Sandor died peacefully in the early hours of September 16, 2019, at UCI Medical Center, after a courageous battle against a rare form of lymphoma.

He is survived by his beloved wife Geri, his sons Andrew (Erzsébet Izsó) and Tim, his grandsons Sebestyén and Benedek, and his siblings Richard (Sally), Jon (Maryann), and Marjorie (Tracy).

Born in San Antonio, Texas to Andy and Jeanne Sandor on the winter solstice, 1942, he spent his childhood in Alhambra, California, in a multi-ethnic working class neighborhood he remembered all his life as a paradise for kids — no fences between backyards, and an arroyo that provided an endless sense of adventure until the call to come home at dusk.

His passion for swimming and tennis developed through adolescence, and he became a competitive swimmer at San Marino High School, when the family moved there in 1957.

He received his B.A. in Economics from Yale University, and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) — his lifelong devotion to the Cal Bears is legendary. It was at Boalt, on the first day of classes, that he and Geri met and fell in love. Within three weeks they knew they would marry, and did so at the end of their first year of law school.

In 1969 they settled in Irvine, California, where they raised their two sons, practiced family law, and founded Shir-Ha-Ma'alot and later, University Synagogue — the latter of which David considered to be one of the great accomplishments of his life.

For many years, David practiced law in Long Beach as a partner in the firm of Simon, McKenzie & Miller. Later, he and Geri formed their own firm. All along the way, the pair traveled widely to such faraway places as Asia, South America, South Africa, New Zealand, Iceland, and Israel, and enjoyed, over the course of their fifty-four years together, an ever-widening circle of loving friends.

David will always be remembered by his large extended family, friends and colleagues as the definition of a "mensch" — a truly good and deeply generous man. He lives in our hearts.