JONATHAN LASTER LERNER

May 13, 1955 to January 13, 2018

By George Marshall Lerner

Achieved heights few could match

 Jonathan Laster Lerner, 62, passed away from a rare form of cancer, on January 13, 2018, in Chicago, IL. At 6-feet tall and built like a tank, he enjoyed a thirty-five-year career as a commodities trader. Priding himself on never having been shoved out of the way, or muffled during the harangues at each closing bell, he achieved heights few people could match on the trading floor.

The son of immigrants, Jonathan was born in Port Washington, NY, on May 13, 1955 to Reby Lerner, a housewife, and Joseph Lerner, a veteran of World War II, who served in the Third Infantry Division. The eldest of three brothers, he attended Paul Schreiber High School, where he graduated with honors, in 1972.

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GEORGE EDWIN NELSON III

November 25, 1961 to May 27, 2017

Indefatigable High Spirits

George Edwin Nelson, known as “Jay” to most, was legendary for his practical jokes, love of family, athletic ability and willingness to try new things. That he had the nerve to depart the earth—deprive the world of his indefatigable high spirits—on Saturday, May 27^th, in Richmond, Virginia, stunned everyone who had ever come across his merry path.

In the prime of his life when he unwillingly succumbed to cancer, Jay was just 55.

Whenever people think of Jay Nelson, they recall some prank or antic he played and start smiling and shaking their heads. He loved kids because he was a big kid himself. When it came to his three sons, Brandon, Adam, and Kyle, there was no game, competitive sport, or rough-and-tumble activity Jay wouldn’t throw himself into as if he were twelve.

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PAOLA “PAULITA” C. LEW

January 26 1927 to May 24, 2017

Paulita Lew—an elegant, gracious woman who always put people first, whether family, friends, or customers at her landmark Four Seasons Cleaners—passed away at her Silverlake, CA home, on Wednesday, May 24^th.

She was ninety years old.

What can you say about a beauty like Paulita? That she married her one true love, Edmund Tue Lew, after knowing him a week? That she had a keen eye for real estate? That she saw to it all five of her children were taken care of and had comfortable lives? That she adored Frank Sinatra and eating out at Lawry’s, Beverly Hills?

And so much more.

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RICHARD STONNELL COLE

November 4, 1927 to September 26^th, 2016

A virtuoso artist

Richard “Dick” Stonnell Cole—an award-winning illustrator, nationally-recognized watercolorist, and cofounder the Northern California design firm Cole Angeli—died on Monday, September 26^th, in San Rafael, CA. He was 88.

How do you describe a virtuoso artist like Dick Cole? You begin with the man.

He loved life, living in Sonoma, beauty, music (classical and jazz), poetry, fly fishing, wit, tall tales and the finer things from California’s vineyards and farms, said Ann Koeffler, his long-time artist’s representative.

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GIRMAY ZEWOLDE

October 1, 1936 to October 15, 2016

A gentleman and a scholar

Girmay Zewolde—an Ethiopian-born teacher-translator-lawyer, whose uproarious humor and championing of the underdog uplifted everyone he knew, especially his children—passed away on Saturday, October 15, at home in Adelphi, Maryland, his family by his side. He was 80 years old.

With his dazzling smile, riveting sense of humor and vibrant personality, he always lit up the room.

A vociferous reader who hated to see the lights go out at the library, Girmay believed street smarts trump book smarts, a theory he often expanded upon by explaining to his children that “street smarts can lead to book smarts.”

Book smarts, he said, are all about following the rules and getting straight A’s, whereas street smarts refer to taking a risk and surviving. “You’ve been tested and have a bank of courage to depend on when you are tested again.”

He knew of what he spoke.

He strove to achieve

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