Sam Jonas

JONAS, Sam Veteran Los Angeles bankruptcy trustee dies at 99. Sam Jonas, a retired U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee and veteran downtown Los Angeles commercial property investor who served in the Eisenhower Administration, died on Thursday, Aug. 3 of natural causes in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 99 and preparing to celebrate his 100th birthday in October. Jonas, a familiar figure in county legal circles who was known for his ever-present captain's hat and American flag lapel pin, was one of the last bankruptcy trustees to serve the court with credentials based on business acumen instead of a law degree. Among the cases he handled were reorganizations that led to the successful completion of housing developments in Las Vegas and Long Beach. Born on Oct. 10, 1906 in a small town outside Warsaw, Poland, Jonas was the youngest of five children. He emigrated to San Francisco with his family as a young boy and after a few years moved to Los Angeles, where he excelled in football and eventually played quarterback at Huntington Park High School and the University of Southern California. Jonas got his start in business as a clerk for the Bank of Italy and helping to run his family's furniture manufacturing plant. After World War II, he began acquiring warehouses, apartment buildings, and other commercial properties in and around downtown Los Angeles. As president of Jonas Enterprises, he continued actively managing the properties until his death. Jonas was also active in the Republican Party. In 1956, he won the Republican nomination for an Assembly seat in the California Legislature. He spent four years in Washington, D.C. working for President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the General Services Administration. It was upon his return to California that Jonas got appointed as a bankruptcy trustee. He was preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Jeannette Jonas, and his daughter, Joanne Jonas Leff. He is survived by his granddaughters, Monica Leff, of Long Beach, Victoria Leff, of Sonoma, Calif., Michele Leff, of Los Angeles, and Lisa Leff, of Berkeley, Calif.; and many nieces and nephews. Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 13 in the chapel at Hillside Memorial Park, 6001 Centinela Ave., Los Angeles, CA.