Irwin Bear

Irwin Bear Irwin Bear, in Burlingame, on October 23 at age 77. Beloved husband of Ann Bear for 21 years; loving father of Howard (Juli) Bear and Wendy Bear and beloved step-father of Rick (Lori) Landgarten, Mike (Stephanie) Landgarten, Sue (Michael) Pearson; adoring grandfather of Rachel and Sarah Bear, Noah, Joshua and Maren Landgarten, and Isabel and Zachary Pearson; dear brother of Jerry Bear. Irwin was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved to San Francisco in 1957, following service as a medical corpsman in the Air Force. Capitalizing on his experience as a sales rep in the textile industry, Irwin built a successful textile manufacturing and distribution business. P & B Fabrics became a premier supplier of quilting fabrics around the world, an important resource to independent quilt shops, and a donor of tens of thousands of yards of fabric to groups making quilts for people in need. Irwin was a long time board member of the Home Sewing Association, and spearheaded the Sew for the Cure campaign to raise one million dollars for breast cancer research. P & B Fabrics published the Sew With Stars quilt book and donated the proceeds to the cause. In 2001 Irwin received the Michael Kile Award, the highest honor in the quilting industry. Irwin also served on the board of the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. Irwin was deeply committed to serving the Jewish community. Along with Ann he was a member of Peninsula Temple Sholom in Burlingame. Irwin traveled to Israel for the first time in 1971 on a Jewish Community Federation mission and returned almost a dozen times. He was active in many local and national Jewish communal organizations as well as in the pro-Israel community. Irwin was the immediate past-president of Hillel of San Francisco. He was president of the United Jewish Community Centers and of the Peninsula Jewish Community Center as well as a national board member of the Jewish Community Center Association. Irwin was also the immediate past chairman of the Friends of Israel Political Action Committee (FIPAC), and a longtime board member of the Northwest Regional Board of AIPAC. In addition he served on the boards of the Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School, the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Holocaust Center of Northern California, Jewish Vocational Service and Congregation Beth Jacob in Redwood City. Irwin was also a longtime supporter of the Jewish Community Federation, who set an example as a generous donor, passionate solicitor and active volunteer. He held leadership positions on numerous committees and was a member of the Jewish Community Endowment Funds Living Legacy Society. Irwin often quipped that the best thing he ever did for the Jewish Community was marrying Ann and luring her here. Irwin was a graduate of San Francisco State University, and was an avid Forty Niners fan. He held season tickets for forty years and attended all the Super Bowls in which the Niners competed. Memorial service will be held at Peninsula Temple Sholom at 1655 Sebastian Drive at 2:00 pm on October 31st. Shiva will be at 1406 Drake Ave. in Burlingame on Monday November 1st, 7:00 pm, as well as the following Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the same time. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday October 27th at 12:45 pm at Sinai Chapels, 162-05 Horace Harding Expressway, Fresh Meadows, NY 11365. A graveside ceremony will follow at Mt. Carmel Cemetery at 8345 Cypress Hills Street, Glendale, New York. Donations in Irwin's memory may be made to San Francisco Hillel in support of The Irwin Bear Endowment for Jewish Campus Life, 33 Banbury Drive, S.F., CA 94132, (415) 333-4922.