William Eisner

1926 - 2024 William Eisner of Pacific Palisades, California, passed away on July 9, 2024. Bill was born in 1926, in, as he put it, "a remote section of Brooklyn known as East New York." A beloved patriarch, he will be deeply missed by his family and friends. He is survived by his wife Letizia Eisner (née Farias), children, Elisabeth Forbes, Robin Farias-Eisner, and Stephanie Shaner, his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and his extended family across the world.
Eisner credited his occupational successes to his early education at Teddy Zalkin's Pool Room rather than the playing fields of Eton, where he learned "respect for craft, thinking ahead, and grace under pressure." He excelled in the public school system and ultimately earned a bachelor's degree at CCNY and a master's degree in engineering from UCLA. After serving in the Air Corp of the Army (navigator), he studied in Paris at the Sorbonne, and held a series of technical and executive positions in the aerospace industry. In Florence, Italy, he met the love of his life, Letizia Farias, "Leti", and they married in Switzerland. Leti and "William", as Leti referred to him, shared a passion for education, scholarship, and a strong work ethic. Their bond extended into the world of Renaissance, literature, and the arts. They raised their three children, first in France and Italy, and later in southern California. With their new family, William and "Leti" loved exploring the outdoors, and could never get enough of the high Sierras. Their travel through Europe never ceased, Marseille, Paris, Bolzano, and Florence, throughout his career and into retirement. Eisner retired happily and devoted himself to his family and writing, completing and publishing nine books including both fiction and commentary. In these works, he explored human nature and the meaning of success. He articulated his values as "the supreme importance of family, the practice of kindness, and tolerance toward others, [and] the appreciation of beauty wherever [we] find it." He lived these values to the fullest.
There will be a private family celebration of life. In recognition of William Eisner's emphasis upon education and scholarship, as the greatest gift to those who strive, the Western University of Health Sciences has created a scholarship fund in his name. Donations may be made to https://www.westernu.edu/donations/william-eisner-memorial-scholarship-fund/.