Ilse Spivek

Ilse Spivek, beloved wife, mother and Sacramento photographer, died peacefully at home on August 18. She was 97. She is survived by her daughters Beverly Morris (the late Richard) and Roberta Spivek (Craig Eisendrath); by nieces and nephews; and by beloved caregivers and friends. A native of Berlin, she settled in Sacramento in 1977 when her husband, Ephraim Spivek, became executive director of the Jewish Federation of Sacramento. After a marriage of 46 years, he predeceased her in 1992. Ivan Gennis, her beloved companion of twenty years, predeceased her in 2016. She fled Germany with her parents, Leo and Erna Pincuss, in 1939, when she was 17. She studied at the Illinois Institute of Design with refugee photographer Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and became principal photographer of a Chicago studio. The family moved to Norfolk, Virginia where she balanced career and motherhood, taking "sittings" of clients in her home studio and developing film in a darkroom off the kitchen. She was active in local affairs as well and served as president of the local League of Women Voters. Her 75-year career spanned changes in photography from the use of glass negatives to digital cameras. She mentored young photographers, led wine-country tours, and taught at library branches and Sacramento State. "She loved photographing families, especially babies and children," her daughter Roberta remembers. She also loved art and travel, and shared that love through exhibits and as a docent at the Crocker Art Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She was active with the Sacramento chapters of Soroptomist International , the League of Women Voters, and the National Council of Jewish Women. She was a member of Congregation B'nai Israel and Congregation Beth Shalom. Services will be held on Wednesday, August 21 at 11 a.m. in the chapel of Home of Peace Cemetery, 6200 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento 95824. Shiva will be observed at the family residence on Thursday, August 22, from 7 to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Jewish Federation of Sacramento.