Gladys Caplan "Cappy" Fogel

May 25, 1921 - July 14, 2023 Gladys Caplan "Cappy" Fogel, whose long life spanned the Great Depression, World War II, and the social transformations of the post-war era and the digital age, passed away peacefully on July 14. She was 102.
Born in Seattle to an immigrant family, Cappy was smart, had a great way with people, and always was ahead of her time. At a time when young women from her background rarely stepped outside of traditional roles, she graduated with honors from the University of Washington, was one of three women in her MBA class at Northwestern, and served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy. Following the war she married, brought up two sons, and cared for her aging parents. In 1976 she co-founded the First Women's Bank of California and served as its board chair until it was acquired in 1984. The bank provided financial resources to women at a time when they still faced widespread discrimination from traditional banks. After the bank was sold, she devoted herself to supporting the arts, travel and continuing her own education.
Cappy was married for 45 years to Daniel Fogel, whom she met when he reported to her at her wartime duty station in Charleston, South Carolina. They often found humor in the fact that Cappy outranked Dan. Dan became a leading Los Angeles trial lawyer and Mayor Tom Bradley's personal attorney. They had two children: Jeremy, who later became a federal judge in Northern California and Director of the Federal Judicial Center, and Barry, who became a prominent neuropsychiatrist and professor at Harvard Medical School.
Cappy will be remembered both for her accomplishments and for her remarkable warmth, kindness, generosity, intellectual curiosity, and sense of humor. She was a dear friend and an inspiration to people of all ages and life experience. She leaves behind her sons and their spouses, Kathleen Wilcox and Xiaoling Jiang Fogel; five grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Many people will miss her, and many will celebrate a long life lived with purpose and with style.