Saturday, October 14, 2023

 

An American Jew's Israel Connections: Our Few Goldfus-Goldfoot Member's in Israel's October 8, 2023 Attack

An American Jew's Israeli Connections: Our Few Goldfus-Goldfoot Members in Israel's October 8, 2023 Attack

 Nadene Goldfoot

    Stanley Goldfoot, two daughters and wife Rebecca "Rollo" Finger."  I bet they had a hearty laugh over the union of the surnames.  They're probably on the beach at Tel Aviv.  Stanley kept his figure.  I met him for the 1st time in 1981 at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.  I asked him on the phone how I'd know him, and he said, "Don't worry, I'll know you."  Yikes!  He was the Chief of Intelligence of the once vital Stern Group, and had been in prison for being a member.  It was the strongest group before 1948's creation of Israel.  He probably has descendants living in Israel.  

Dan Goldfus is a commander in the IDF, born 1976.  He's the son of Chaim Goldfus, another Lithuanian who came from South Africa. I don't want to expose his position, but I'm so proud of him but we have never met.  I can see he's right-handed.  I'm left handed and so was my brother  and cousin Nate Goldfoot.  

Our surname was originally Goldfus in Lithuania and some kept this original last name. In England it was anglicized to Goldfoot.    

Stanley Goldfoot lived in Jerusalem and was my 2nd-3rd cousin of South Africa. A lot of Lithuanian Jews had gone there instead of the USA.  He was the same age as my mother.   He had also changed his name when in England or Dublin, Ireland like my grandfather, Nathan Abraham Goldfoot. He had married Rebecca "Rollo" Finger and had two daughters, Zahava (Gold) and Yaira. They and their families may be there.  Stanley was the writer of the very well known "Letter To The World."  

Yehudit Goldfus had 2 girls and a boy, was the daughter of Aryeh Goldfus b: 1913 who had moved to Israel and Aryeh had been the son of Chaim Goldfus b: 1885.  We had a lot of Goldfus people in South Africa and many went to Israel.  

We have a Chaim Goldfus who is a PhD of Archaeology living in Israel born 1951 with 3 children.  Two are listed as living in Israel.

Another Chaim Goldfus was in the insurance business.  I was with Stanley and saw Chaim's office, and asked Stanley about him.  They hadn't met yet.  Families had been pulled apart because of emigrations, immigrations, wars, etc, and had lost family members that way.  I'm into genealogy and make a point of collecting family members.  It's something many of us women have been interested in. DNA is the glue binding us, and is so revealing.  Many Jews use it to find out about lost family members, for after the Holocaust they knew nothing about their heritage. 

Kibbutzim became easy targets for the Hamas terrorists.  Most are orthodox kibbutzim in Judea and Samaria,  but there are some inside the perameters of Israel proper as well.  My husband and I visited Kibbutz Degania Alef when we first arrived sometime between 1980 and 1981 as one of us had a family member there.   It's in northern Israel, in danger from Hezbolla terrorism, founded in 1910. This is not orthodox, and is the  earliest socialist Zionist farming commune in the Land of Israel.  Danny's cousin once removed had started Boy's Town in Jerusalem. We had the distinction to be able to stay overnight there before that wing opened.  I remember that we arrived at Degania Alef by bus, but the bus drove past the stop so everyone on the bus yelled to the driver to stop and back up.  I loved that, coming from the Pacific NW, to see a whole busload know what you needed and helped.  No one was shy on that bus.   

   


 

David Alan Goldfoot: His Obituary From Austin, Texas

 

                                                                      


David A. Goldfoot Obituary

On October 8, 2023, the world lost a remarkable man. David Alan Goldfoot passed away in Austin, Texas, at the age of 81. Born in Portland, Oregon, on August 2, 1942, to Maurice and Mildred Goldfoot, David grew up with his older sister, Nadene, in a multicultural community. All who knew him described David as brilliant, kind, fun loving, creative, and a wonderful friend.

At just ten years of age, he broke barriers by becoming the first Jewish child to be named Prime Minister of Portland's Junior Rose Festival. In 2003, his lasting influence on his community was honored when he was knighted as Sir David Goldfoot of Rosaria. As a teen, he spent a summer as an AFS exchange student in Germany and developed a life-long interest in foreign languages. He became fluent in German and Dutch and learned Spanish and Greek before traveling.

He graduated from Reed College in 1964. In December of that year, he married Heather Birnie, also from Portland. After David graduated from Oregon Health & Science University with a Ph.D. in Medical Psychology, the couple moved to the Netherlands, where he conducted postdoctoral research in reproductive endocrinology at Erasmus University in Rotterdam.

David began his career as a research scientist at the Wisconsin Primate Research Center, where he authored or co-authored more than 25 papers. Later, he retrained in clinical psychology and co-founded Mental Health Solutions in Madison, Wisconsin. He was a widely respected psychologist who specialized in working with individuals with anger problems and sexual addictions. In addition to his clinical work, David's computer skills made the clinic run smoothly with innovative programs which documented clients' progress. After retirement in Austin, Texas, he developed smartphone apps to help individuals with behavioral addictions.

David was curious and always looking for new challenges. He learned to play the dobro, made videos for the UT LAMP program and for special occasions with his many friends, taught his Austin friends to play poker, and supported Lorraine in her quest to turn Texas blue. David and Lorraine enjoyed exploring Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean islands. He loved to visit Germany and Austria so he could speak German with family and friends.

David was a devoted father who taught his children to love learning and to treat all people equally. He supported their interests, celebrated their successes, and was there when times were difficult. As a partner, he was beyond compare supportive, kind, patient, and thoughtful.

David will be remembered by his loving wife, Lorraine Broll, his sons Joel (Jill Jodar) and Josh (Matthew Berry), his daughter, Michelle, his sister, Nadene Goldfoot, and his beloved poodle, Roxy.

There will be a celebration of David's life later this fall in Austin. In lieu of flowers, contributions in David's memory may be made to Cancer Research Institute (www.cancerresearch.org)

Published by Legacy Remembers on Oct. 13, 2023.

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Monday, October 09, 2023

 

David Alan Goldfoot-Biography

 Nadene Goldfoot                                       


    My brother, David Alan Goldfoot, passed away October 8, 2023 in Austin, Texas from cancer of the liver.  (High school graduation) On October 8, 2023, the world lost a remarkable man. David Alan Goldfoot passed away in Austin, Texas, at the age of 81. Born in Portland, Oregon, on August 2, 1942, to Maurice and Mildred Goldfoot, David grew up with his older sister, Nadene, in a multicultural community. All who knew him described David as brilliant, kind, fun loving, creative, and a wonderful friend.At just ten years of age, he broke barriers by becoming the first Jewish child to be named Prime Minister of Portland's Junior Rose Festival. In 2003, his lasting influence on his community was honored when he was knighted as Sir David Goldfoot of Rosaria. As a teen, he spent a summer as an AFS exchange student in Germany and developed a life-long interest in foreign languages. He became fluent in German and Dutch and learned Spanish and Greek before traveling.He graduated from Reed College in 1964. In December of that year, he married Heather Birnie, also from Portland. After David graduated from Oregon Health & Science University with a Ph.D. in Medical Psychology, the couple moved to the Netherlands, where he conducted postdoctoral research in reproductive endocrinology at Erasmus University in Rotterdam.David began his career as a research scientist at the Wisconsin Primate Research Center, where he authored or co-authored more than 25 papers. Later, he retrained in clinical psychology and co-founded Mental Health Solutions in Madison, Wisconsin. He was a widely respected psychologist who specialized in working with individuals with anger problems and sexual addictions. In addition to his clinical work, David's computer skills made the clinic run smoothly with innovative programs which documented clients' progress. After retirement in Austin, Texas, he developed smartphone apps to help individuals with behavioral addictions.David was curious and always looking for new challenges. He learned to play the dobro, made videos for the UT LAMP program and for special occasions with his many friends, taught his Austin friends to play poker, and supported Lorraine in her quest to turn Texas blue. David and Lorraine enjoyed exploring Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean islands. He loved to visit Germany and Austria so he could speak German with family and friends.David was a devoted father who taught his children to love learning and to treat all people equally. He supported their interests, celebrated their successes, and was there when times were difficult. As a partner, he was beyond compare supportive, kind, patient, and thoughtful.David will be remembered by his loving wife, Lorraine Broll, his sons Joel (Jill Jodar) and Josh (Matthew Berry), his daughter, Michelle, his sister, Nadene Goldfoot, and his beloved poodle, Roxy.There will be a celebration of David's life later this fall in Austin. In lieu of flowers, contributions in David's memory may be made to Cancer Research Institute (www.cancerresearch.org)
Published by Legacy Remembers on Oct. 13, 2023.
                           David, Mom and cousin Don Eichman

Surprisingly, our mother passed away on October 5, 2005 in Ontario, Oregon where she was living.  18 years previously. 

        David, in Dad's arms during a family gathering from both sides of our family; the Robinsons and our Goldfoot with  Uncle Werner Oster and his first two girls at that time and Uncle Kenny with his two girls and cousin Don next to Harriet Oster.  I'm the big girl.  David and Charlotte, the tots, were almost the same age.  Mom was 29 by the time David was born.  She had a son so smart that the school district advised her to place him in a special advanced school which she didn't. Abernethy did well by him anyway.   We just enriched his home life. I guess he  did okay.   

This picture  was back in the day that when we were walking around stores and such, Mom had a halter on him with a leash.  You don't see that anymore, but it was very handy!  

                        David was about 5 here with our family.  Look at those arms ready to go.  Mom has a hold on him.   
                                                   
     The return to the Rose Festival for more recognition 

David accomplished much in his life of 81 years 2 months and 6 days.  He was chosen Prime Minister of the  Junior Rose Festival of Portland  from the 4th grade with his reciting of  "What are little boys made of?  Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails, etc. He became a Foreign exchange student from Washington High to Germany for the summer; then  Student body president at Washington High School.  

He was a Reed College graduate-the Harvard of the West,  who had caught some virus or bacteria in Germany before he left, causing him to later be ill during his Reed days which he had to deal with besides the heavy studies.  He did it.  

Earning his PhD degree after that in psychology was a fulfilled goal, working in Holland with monkeys; and even had an article about his work in Playboy magazine were coming events.  Then he decided to work with people, and took more classes, so he had-really-2 PhD degrees in a way.                 

                    David in full beard, Josh, Joel, Heather, dog

In the meantime, he had met Heather Bernie, another foreign exchange student from Portland, during their period of travel, and married,  living in Holland long enough to give birth to 1st son, Joel.  Joshua came along later as 2nd son in the states.  David had set up his own clinic. My daughter reminded me that  his first degree was in Endocrinology (glands) and headed up the primate center at the Univ of Wisconsin in Madison..   It was after that that he went back to school to get his degree in Psychology to work w/humans as opposed to apes. 

 David was a sweetheart and took the DNA test with Family tree DNA, a Houston, Texas company and the best for research, for me.  He tested for the Y haplogroup and the mtDNA.  haplogroup.  This helped me in my study of our family line, without it couldn't have done it.                            

Much later,  David was divorced and married Lorraine Broll, a child psychologist in his clinic.  They had Michelle, and were living in Austin.                                       

           Lorraine, me, David

David and Lorraine loved to travel, so have taken in much of this world.  He took time to visit us often, and even stayed with me when I had a knee replacement operation and helped me. They had a group of friends they traveled with, which made it much more fun for them.   Their last trip was to Iceland, a brilliant way of escaping Austin's heat.                       

Rest in peace, David. We'll miss you so much.  People don't understand, just knowing he was there gave us all such a mental security.  We didn't have be be living together to feel this.  We could reach out with today's communications.  He'll live in our minds with us.    


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