Friday, May 17, 2024
Harold Norman "Hal" Yaphe, z''l, passed away on December 7, 2023, at the age of 91 with his beloved wife of 69 years by his side.
Born October 14,1932 in Montreal, Quebec, to Benjamin and Bertha Yaphe, Hal immigrated to the United States, attended Hollywood High School in Los Angeles and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
He met "Mimi" (nee Gillman) at a USO dance in her hometown of Seattle in 1953. The two married the next year and began a life of loving devotion that would last seven decades. Hal was a longtime commercial real estate broker in the Seattle area, spending many years of his career with Westlake & Associates.
He and Mimi raised two daughters and made their home in Edmonds.
A gifted artist whose oil paintings often captured the deep emotions playing across the faces he painted, Hal was a bundle of frenetic energy who took great pride in remaining a fixture on the Tuesday morning ski bus to Stevens Pass well into his eighties.
He was an avid runner and obsessive golfer, a relentless cribbage player, and a ceaseless sports fan who often measured the passage of time with the approach of Seahawks and Huskies football, Mariners baseball, Sonics basketball, or the Masters at Augusta National.
He was deeply proud of his Judaism and considered his travel to Israel a highlight of the many domestic and international trips he took with family and friends. He will be remembered for his stories and his vivacity, but most of all by the love he showed his family and the abundant kindness with which he treated those fortunate enough to be touched by his presence.
Hal was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Benjamin, and is succeeded by his wife Mimi, his daughters Dianne Celuch (husband Paul) and Lori Raymond (husband Ross), four grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at Congregation Beth Shalom in Temecula, California, at 11 a.m. on Sunday, December 17, 2023.
