Marion Israela Kaplan

Marion Israela Kaplan (nee Smith) died April 17, 2023 at the Los Angeles Jewish Home at the age of 100 years and 8 months. She was the widow of Melvin "Mel" Jerome Kaplan and the mother of Roger Kaplan and David Jon Kaplan.

Marion was born in New York City on August 17, 1922, the child of David Theodore Smith and Margaret Askenazy who both emigrated from Eastern Europe with their families as young children. She lived in California for the past 42 years, moving with Mel from her home in Long Island to be closer to his business interests in Japan and Asia. After enjoying the warmth and sunniness of California, she vowed never to return to a cold northeastern climate.

Marion had some amazing experiences during her lifetime. When she graduated from high school in 1939, she and her mother sailed to Europe for a tour of a continent that they did not fully realize was on the precipice of war. They visited England, France, Holland, Belgium and Switzerland. Fortunately, Marion and her mother sailed back to New York City prior the commencement of the war, arriving on the same day that Hitler invaded Poland.

Marion graduated from New York University. She then worked for a television program development company with NBC. Marion became active in the Civil Rights movement of the 1940s and participated in protests organized by Bayard Rustin as part of the March on Washington.

Marion met and married Mel Kaplan after he returned from military service in China's Gobi Desert. Mel had been trained and worked as an aeronautical engineer prior to WW II but managed sales for consumer electronic businesses for the majority of his working life. Marion and Mel raised their two sons in Syosset, New York, in a new suburban home built on recently developed potato fields.

Marion was a beautiful and stylish woman who excelled at cooking, playing bridge and completing New York Times crossword puzzles. She had a wide group of friends and enjoyed socializing.

Marion was determined to make it to 100. She accomplished that feat last August, outliving any of her previous family members. Extended family celebrated with her via a birthday party complements of Zoom. Marion reveled in the best wishes of family from Virginia to Massachusetts to Colorado and California. She will be greatly missed by those who loved her.