Herman Beitch

October 14, 1918 – October 14, 2008
Herman was born in St. Louis, Missouri on October 14, 1918, the son of Minnie Lander and Harry Bietch (later changed to Beitch), both Yiddish speaking immigrants from Kishinev, Russia. Herman was the 2nd of four brothers; Morris, Herman, Elmer and Leonard.
Herman graduated from Soldan High School in St. Louis in 1936. Because his father died when he was still young, Herman worked to support his family and earn money instead of going to college, which later allowed his youngest brother to go to college.
In the early ‘40s Herman’s two brothers Morris and Elmer went off to war, but Herman’s high blood pressure caused him to be rejected, much to his chagrin. For the next 72 years he intensely managed and controlled the blood pressure by maintaining a very active and healthy lifestyle. He never missed a day of exercise, one of the JCCA’s most dedicated members, and later a very notable member of the YMCA in Redwood City, California, with computers recording millions of pounds lifted by a man in his eighties.
During the depression, when very few jobs were available, he was one of thousands who took the civil service exam, scoring 2nd highest and receiving one of the few jobs available at the US Post Office in St. Louis.
Herman worked at the post office for 46 years starting as a clerk/carrier and ultimately achieving the position of Branch Manager. After retiring from the P.O. at age 59, he finally had the opportunity to enroll in college and he earned a bachelor’s degree in general studies. All of his children proudly attended his graduation.
He met Shirley Lehr at a Temple Israel “May Day” singles’ dance and they were married in 1950, recently celebrating their 58th wedding anniversary.
Herman and Shirley raised three children: Janis, married to Jeff Baron, three children, living in Los Gatos, California; Gary, married to Sheryl, four children, living in San Ramon, California; and Mark, married to Leslie, two children, living in St. Louis, Missouri. While his children were growing up, he took the family on many camping trips throughout the U.S., taught his daughter algebra and taught his sons to repair everything in a home.
After living in St. Louis all their lives till then and now retired, Herman and Shirley decided to relocate to California in 1982 to help Janis and Jeff care for their three babies. At first they lived in Janis and Jeff’s house and later bought their own house in Redwood City. Herman was instrumental in the care of the three infants; single-handedly managing each day’s morning shift and mechanically transforming the house into a modern-day childcare facility. You had to see it to believe it. He was very involved in all of his grandchildren’s lives teaching each one, among other things, to ride a bike without training wheels!

His sports accomplishments were legendary, beginning with handball, winning tournaments at the old YMHA in St. Louis in the 1940’s, and then switching to racquetball, tennis, long-distance (sometimes week-long) bike riding trips, swimming, aerobics, and weight lifting.
He had a life-long interest in politics and current events, taking college classes and submitting dozens of published “letters to the editor.” He was a devotee of Time Magazine and never missed the Lehrer News Hour.
Throughout the 1980s and 90’s, Herman and Shirley traveled the world together, going to Europe, China, Turkey, Alaska, Hawaii, Russia, South Asia and the Pacific islands, and Israel, bringing back souvenirs and lots of stories.
Just three weeks before his 90th birthday Herman and Shirley, both sharp as a tack, played bridge at their senior center, Little House in Menlo Park, as a team -- and took first place.

On Saturday, Oct. 4th, Leslie and I were in the St. Louis airport on our way to visit the family and to celebrate his birthday, when we got the call that he had suffered a stroke. He was not fully conscience again for the entire week and he died on October 14th, --- on his 90th birthday! In my last conversation with him a few days before the stroke, he talked about proudly being the first Beitch to reach the age of 90. We will miss him.

Special Note: We had to find a nursing facilty to move him to after the first 3 days in the hospital. We were told by the social worker to contact several places, one was "Gordon's Care." "Gordon's" said he could not stay there, but instructed us where to send him - which ended up being the perfect place. Once we heard that "Gordon's" recommended a place, we knew who was helping us and we didn't look any further.