Memorial Wall

 Isabel née Shapiro was born in Los Angeles on May 30,1937 and attended Los Angeles High School. Isabel met Hugo, her husband, at a Wilshire Blvd Temple dance in high school. They were married July 25, 1958 and spent nearly 70 years together, building a beautiful life and family. Isabel was a beautiful, kind, funny and gentle soul. She was a wonderful friend, but her greatest joy and pleasure was her role as a mother and grandmother. She ran their home with love, filling it with delicious food and a large crowd as it was always "the more the merrier". Multiple generations of their community felt at home and were always welcomed in the de Castro house, affectionately known as "La Quinta Isabel". Every Sunday was family day followed by a regular weekly routine of expert mahjong and scrabble with friends. Isabel loved the LA Philharmonic, sailing and traveling around the world with her closest friends. However, her greatest pride and joy was her large loving family. 
After a 15-year battle with Parkinson's disease, Isabel passed away on September 17, 2022. Her unwavering strength and courage was remarkable. Isabel died peacefully at home surrounded by her loving husband of 64 years, Hugo, and all her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Ending a few weeks of grave illness, Mariko, GrandMa Buku as she was known in the family, early Monday morning slipped quietly into the peace of the hereafter. Mariko was born on Kita Daito, a small island pair well east of Okinawa, to Yushu and Natsu Shimabukuro, who also gave Mariko six brothers and a sister. As a young girl of 8 Mariko saw the terrible battle for Okinawa. At age 18 she married and immigrated to California where she bore four children who have grown to successful and respected adults. They in turn blessed the family with ten grand children, to be followed by sixteen great-grandchildren.
Mariko's interest in electronics led to her employment with aerospace companies where she, as a vacuum tube specialist, was able to make significant contributions to missile and space navigation technologies. Mariko spent the later third of her life in Wilmington and in retirement watched her family grow, enjoyed annual family camping trips and winning an occasional jackpot in a casino. The hole GrandMa Buku's passing leaves in our hearts is readily filled by the many wonderful memories she leaves with us.

Hal Levin, a pioneer and leader in the field of indoor air quality and building ecology, died in Laveno, Italy on February 21, 2023.
Hal was born in Portland, Oregon on October 6, 1941, the son of Mollie Schnitzer Levin and Bernard Levin. After his father returned from World War II, the family moved to Beverly Hills, California. Hal's lifelong love of baseball began there, as he played from Little League through high school. He attended Cornell University before transferring to the University of California at Berkeley, pitching on both baseball teams. He continued to pitch throughout his life and pitched in senior leagues until he was seventy-seven years old.
Hal was a volunteer architect in the Peace Corps in Colombia from 1966-1968. After returning from the Peace Corps, he graduated from Cal with degrees in architecture and English. For the next several years, he worked at the Organization for Social and Technological Innovation and Building Systems Development, working on affordable and sustainable housing. Hal moved to Boulder Creek, California in 1973 and built houses. He was a Research Specialist at the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley where he taught budding architects about the need to understand the realities of constructing the things that they designed. In 1972, he founded the Building Ecology Research Group.
In 1977, then Governor Jerry Brown appointed Hal as a public member of the California State Board of Architectural Examiners, a position he held until 1985, and was President of the Board in 1983 and 1984. As a member of the Board, he held hearings on "sick building syndrome". These hearings ignited his interest in indoor air quality and the ecology of buildings. He was early to recognize the need for and value of examining the toxicity of building materials and systems used in their construction and operation. His work focused on the integration of knowledge about indoor and outdoor air pollution as well as other risk factors into the design, construction, and operation of residential and commercial buildings and communities.
Hal was the President of the Indoor Air Institute and a Principal in Building Ecology Research Group. He was a prolific author on the subject of indoor air quality. He was engaged by many institutions as a lecturer, research scientist, architect, and consultant throughout the world. These included Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, UC Davis, the University of California, the State of California, the National Institutes of Health, the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He lectured extensively all over the world and taught at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz and Harvard University. Hal was a member of many organizations, including the American Society for Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) which gave him its distinguished service award, American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), which gave him its Award of Merit, and the International Society of Indoor Air Sciences. Hal was the President of Indoor Air 2002, organizing the Ninth International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, held in Monterey, California in 2002. In 2018, at the Fifteenth International Conference, Hal was given the Lifetime Service Award for his exceptional contributions to indoor air sciences.
Hal's influence in the field was profound. He recognized the gaps in his knowledge of an evolving field, the result of which was the extent to which he pressed himself and others to stretch their own efforts to make buildings increasingly healthy and sustainable. Among his strengths was an ability to help his students and colleagues find both voice and encouragement where it had been absent. As one colleague said, "He made me a better person." Similar reflections like "a better researcher;" "a better professional" "a better carpenter" are a few of the expressions from his many friends and colleagues.
Having developed an interest in South American music while in the Peace Corps, Hal hosted a show on Santa Cruz public radio station KUSP for eighteen years. Hal was a vegetarian for fifty years and enjoyed organic gardening.
In 2003, Hal met the love of his life, Mariachiara Tallacchini-a law professor and ethicist-- in Milan, Italy. They were married in 2004 and shared a bicontinental marriage for the next fifteen years. In 2019, he concluded that it was time to retire and, with their dog, Aki, move to Reno di Leggiuno, Italy, by Lake Maggiore so that he could be with Mariachiara full time. Sadly, Hal was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in April 2020, and his health declined rapidly.
In addition to his wife, Hal is survived by his sisters, Ellen Jacobs (Martin) and Nancy Levin (Daniel Caraco); his nephews Joel Jacobs (Denise Wolf) and Joshua Caraco; his niece Margie Jacobs (Andrew Seplow); great-nieces and cousins; and Aki. Hal's parents and his nephew Benjamin Caraco predeceased him.

Dr. Soram Singh Khalsa, a pioneer in integrative medicine, passed away surrounded by love and grace on September 28, 2024. Known by so many as "Dr. Soram," over his nearly 50-year medical career, he treated and healed tens of thousands of people from his Khalsa Medical Clinic in Beverly Hills. He was 76 years old and had contracted pneumonia, following several years of a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Dr Soram began his practice in Los Angeles in 1977 and was one of the first medical practitioners in southern California to weave together Western clinical approaches with holistic and natural interventions like acupuncture, herbal remedies and homeopathy. Over time, the Khalsa Medical Clinic grew to become Beverly Hills' preeminent destination for integrative care, both because of the effectiveness of his treatments as well as his personal attention as a doctor. He was dedicated to his patient's well-being and had a way of making each patient feel important, cared for and heard. He was always most happy when he had a full day of patients, energetically racing around his office, sometimes seeing more than 25 people per day. He was cheerfully seeing patients in his office just days before his passing, doing the thing that he loved best. As an intelligent, curious and driven child, Soram knew from the time he was five years old he wanted to be a doctor. He graduated from Yale University in 1970 and then went on to medical school at Case Western Reserve University in his native Ohio. Dr Soram married Caroline (Kulwant) in 1971 they shared a life of dedication and service to their community. He was a devout yogi and a man of great faith, adopting the Sikh religion in his early 20s. His daily meditation practice was the cornerstone of his work as a healer. Dr. Soram's commitment to leadership and service shone through in his work with the American Holistic Medical Association and the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture. In 2007, he was chosen by his peers as one of the "Best Doctors in America" and in 2009 he authored the book, "The Vitamin D Revolution.
 Dr. Soram accepted an honorary Doctor of Naturopathic Sciences degree from Sonoran University of Health Science in Arizona where he and Caroline endowed a new medical library. In his acceptance speech, Dr. Soram shared the heart of his work with new graduates: "Really caring about your patients makes all the difference in the quality of the work we do. Being genuinely concerned for their well-being, their humanity, their lives, their hopes and dreams… this is a rarity in today's fast-paced world of medicine." For many years as an Assistant Professor at UCLA Medical School he taught a course called "Doctoring" to train future doctors how to establish rapport with their patients and how to interact one on one in the most effective and caring way. Dr Soram's love and dedication to his patients was unwavering and so many credit him with comforting them through illness and life-changing healing. Dr. Soram loved his work – and his patients – dearly, many of whom remained in his earnest care for decades. His unique blend of keen intellect, curiosity, confidence and openness also made him a favorite with his many professional colleagues. We are so grateful that he was able to shine his light of service until the very end of his earthly days. May his life and legacy be an example of what one person can do in the service of others. Dr Soram is survived by his wife of 53 years, Caroline (Kulwant) Khalsa and their daughter Siri Trang Khalsa, as well as all those who were touched by his light. 

Norman Siderow, 66, of Ojai, California, independent producer and former tv production executive, passed away on June 16, 2023.
Norman grew up in Los Angeles and discovered his love of filmmaking and storytelling at a very young age. With his friends, he created irreverent 8mm films in the style of one of his favorite comics, Mel Brooks. Always a prankster, even as an adult, he enjoyed sending up some of his self-serious friends and colleagues.
After graduating from Cal State Northridge, Norman went on to enjoy a successful career in the film and television industry. He served as the President of Development and Production at Harmony Gold USA, for many years, where he developed and produced long-form television productions. Subsequently, he partnered with Scott Jones at Artist View Entertainment to produce reality-based webisodes at the dawn of that medium, and later joined forces with John Lynch to form Lynch-Siderow Productions, where they produced The Andy Dick Show, Hollow Men and Jackass: The Movie, among other shows.
Most significantly, starting in the 1990s Norman worked with Irish film companies, including a stint with Merlin Films in Dublin, Ireland, where he developed a deep affinity for Irish culture and met many of his closest friends. After returning to Los Angeles he continued to work with Irish screenwriters and producers, resulting in the award-winning drama "Stardust" which swept the Irish Film and Television Awards in 2007, including the award for Best Single Drama/Drama Serial, which award Norman shared with writer Paul Walker and director Ciaran Donnelly.
In 2012 Norman was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, which slowed but did not stop him from continuing to work with Artist View and his colleagues in Ireland, and most recently volunteering as a submission screener for the Ojai Film Festival.
Norman will be remembered for his quick wit and practical jokes, but also for his kindness and generosity. He leaves behind his wife, Jill R. Cohen, his sister, Marcia Siderow, and extended family, as well as his dear friends and colleagues.