Robert M. Ashen

Robert Morton (Bob) Ashen was born in Chicago March 14, 1934, the son of Dorothy Gurevitz and Benjamin Ashen. He died at 89 on January 22, 2024 in Los Angeles, as the result of a stroke. He attended Chicago public schools and received an engineering degree from Purdue. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1958 he practiced briefly in Chicago and moved to Los Angeles with his first wife, Rita Saunders, in 1961 to practice intellectual property law (at the time called patent law). Bob was a well-respected, principled, and thoughtful lawyer for more than five decades in Los Angeles. At the same time he prioritized his family, friends, and living a full life. He was a wonderful father. Until the very end of his life he passionately tried to improve his duplicate bridge game (successfully) and his tennis game (not quite so successfully). Bob's deep social conscience led him to give back to the community in many ways-the one he most enjoyed was participating in college scholarship programs at Woodrow Wilson and Los Angeles High Schools. Of his travels, he most enjoyed living in other countries for months at a time. Fortunately his second wife (for the last 47 years), Ann Garry, had academic appointments that made these long stays feasible. In addition to Ann, he is survived by three children--Jon Ashen, Ceth Ashendouek, and David Ashen-Garry--in whom Bob took great joy both as children and as adults. His daughters-in-law, Sue, Freida, and Elodie, and his five grandchildren brought further joy to his life: Jenna, Maya, and Joshua Ashendouek, Elizabeth Ashen, and Olivia Ashen-Garry. His memorial service took place in his garden at home on January 26, 2024, where participants recalled his social conscience, dry wit, enthusiasm for learning, friendliness, and warmth.
For those considering a contribution in Bob's memory, his family suggests Planned Parenthood, the Climate Reality Project, the American Civil Liberties Union, or others that embody similar values.
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Created by Jessica Pace-Soler