Daniel Kanan, a passionate family man and real estate expert who played vigorous beach volleyball at Will Rogers until his final year, died on December 13 following a courageous battle with lymphoma. He was 69. Born on October 8, 1937 in Pasadena, Dan was the third son of Marie and Albert Kanan, who also had two daughters. His parents had been born in Syria and, after marrying in 1930, had traveled by ship from Beirut to Ellis Island, a journey lasting 35 days. Looking for greater opportunities and warmer weather, they decided to move to Los Angeles three years later, where Albert started a linen, lingerie and baby clothes store on Colorado Boulevard. Shortly after Dan’s birth, the family moved to Santa Monica, where the ocean and the beach became a haven for the five Kanan siblings, as well as their future offspring. In 1945, the family moved to Pacific Palisades for about four years and then back to Santa Monica, where Dan attended local schools. He graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1955, then attended classes at Santa Monica City College before transferring to UCLA, where he earned a business degree in real estate in 1959. One of Dan’s first jobs was working at McCarthy’s Drugs on Montana. While making deliveries to another local McCarthy’s Drugs on Lincoln and Ocean Park, Dan often spotted a young beauty, Cheryel Greaney, and finally asked her out in 1958. They married in September 1960 and ultimately built and settled down into their modern, electric ‘dream house’ in the Palisades in 1963. Here they raised their five children: Dan, Debbie, Jim, Nikki, and Tami. Dan’s life-long passion was real estate. He began his career at the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office in 1960 and retired in the late 1970s as a senior appraiser. During the mid-1960s, Dan also obtained his real estate broker’s license. He worked in the real estate department at Litton Industries for about a year, then left to join his brother Ed in his company. Dan remained at Kanan Bros. until the 1990s when he started his own company, Kanan Associates (Cheryel being the ‘associates’), where he focused on real estate brokerage and appraisals. His favorite past-time with his family, or alone, was to drive the Westside looking at property. He also dropped in to see his mother every day, leaving her notes that the family later found under the kitchen tablecovering. Dan had many passions in life, most of them involving sports. He was an avid beach and court volleyball player and loved basketball. For most of his life, he ran daily on the beach and always took a short ‘dip’ in the ocean–regardless of the season or weather! He was a tremendous handball player and most recently an advocate for trying to keep this dying sport alive in younger generations. In doing so, Dan solicited a grant and then established and coached a youth handball program at the Santa Monica YMCA. A ‘people person,’ Dan was extremely involved in community and charitable organizations, including Boy Scout Troop 400, the Civic League, the Optimist Club, and the YMCA Indian Guide and Princess programs in Pacific Palisades. His Santa Monica commitments included the Boys Club Council (charter member), Jaycees (president), Rotary, the YMCA board of directors, and the Board of Realtors (president). His kindness and goodness were extended to many through these various groups. Additionally, through the years he coached youth sports, chauffeured for field trips, and babysat grandchildren. He also supported Cheryel (business manager of the Palisadian-Post) in all of her many philanthropic organizations. Dan spread wisdom, friendship and a huge smile to everyone he met. He considered everyone a part of his extended family, and was an unofficial ‘adopted’ Dad to all his children’s friends. He was a mentor and hero in the eyes of most who were fortunate to have come in contact with this amazing, gentle, fun-loving man. As one of the many condolence callers stated, ‘If we all had a little Dan in us, we’d all be better people.’ In April 2000, Dan, Cheryel, Debbie and Nikki visited Syria for the first time. The word got out that they were coming, and when they arrived at their hotel in the small town that Dan’s mother had come from, they were greeted by dozens of family members they’d never known. With no common language, they still had a great time, proving once more that Dan couldn’t go anywhere without running into someone he knew or would soon turn into a friend. Last December, Dan learned that he had a form of lymphoma. He had always told Cheryel that if he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, he expected to just walk into the ocean and never look back. But once it happened, he said something different: ‘I want to live for my children and grandchildren.’ Indeed, he made the most of his time, bringing the family closer together and being a loving ‘Jidu’ (Arabic for Grandpa) for his grandchildren for as long as he could. Dan was preceded in death by his beloved parents and his two brothers, Gilbert and Edmund. He is survived by his loving wife and life-partner, Cheryel; his five children Dan (wife Bianca), Debbie, Jim (wife Christine), Nikki, and Tami (husband John); his seven grandchildren Jake, Daniel, Kobe, Malia, Kaia, Alani, and Emma; his sisters Nadia (husband Camille) and Amira (husband Hans); his sister-in-law Sharon; his nephews and niece Mitch (Olivia), Eddie (Stephanie), Kevin, Gregg (Shelly) and Kristen; and his great-nephews and nieces Josh, Nikolas, Sarah, Sophia, Samuel and Gilbert. Dan also leaves behind his dearly loved, four-legged pals Magua and Bruno. His life was celebrated by 600 of his friends and family members on Tuesday at the Palisades Lutheran Church. A reception followed at the Bel-Air Bay Club. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made in Dan’s memory to the Santa Monica YMCA, 1332 Sixth St., Santa Monica, CA 90401. These donations will be earmarked for the Childcare Development Program, which Dan proudly helped bring to fruition. The family would also like to thank Dr. Richard Kennedy, as well as the amazing doctors and staff at The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute in Santa Monica for their care.

Joe Hernandez, the Palisadian-Post shop foreman and a 28-year employee, passed away unexpectedly on December 12. He was 54. Joe was born in the San Fernando Valley on August 29, 1952. He attended San Fernando High School and started working at The Sun, a book publishing company in Van Nuys, at age 16. He eventually became head pressman at The Sun. Palisadian-Post production manager Jim Reynolds hired Joe in September 1978, about six months after Reynolds started working at the Post. ‘The pressman who left had broken the press,’ Reynolds remembers. ‘So I asked the people I interviewed if they knew how to fix the press. I hired Joe and he was able to fix it.’ Joe proved to be a quick learner. In two years, he moved up–literally, upstairs–to run the single-color presses. The single-color presses are ‘completely different from the web press,’ Reynolds says. ‘I gave Joe about two lessons and he had it down pat.’ When the Post later purchased two-color presses that nobody knew how to run, Joe had two weeks of training and was proficient. ‘When it came to printing, Joe was a craftsman at his trade,’ says Ed Lowe, the Post’s graphics director. ‘He was a perfectionist. He would not approve a printing job unless he was satisfied with the quality.’ Joe also did a lot of mechanical repairs, which Reynolds says ‘saved us from having to call in a repairman. He would troubleshoot. If there was stuff he was unfamiliar with, he would sit, look at it, jiggle it around for a while, and fix it.’ Manual Tavarez, another Post employee who worked closely with Joe for nearly 13 years, says Joe could fix any machine and was always helping others repair their equipment. ‘He was an electrician, a plumber, a mechanic. We used to joke that when he had problems with his press, nobody could help him.’ Lowe used to kid with Joe about opening ‘Joe’s Garage’ behind the Post because Joe ‘would work on employees’ cars and stay late fixing them.’ Tavarez agrees that Joe was a perfectionist and always kept his space neat and clean’at work and at home. But working with him was easy. ‘We were always in a good mood, laughing and telling jokes,’ Tavarez says. ‘He was a great friend, and he cared so much about everybody.’ Palisadian-Post Publisher Roberta Donohue recalls that she and Joe initially worked together as co-workers before she became publisher in 1987. ‘Joe was somebody I always went to with questions about printing,’ she says. ‘Besides that, he and I bonded as friends. He was always someone I could talk to and relate to.’ Donohue says that Reynolds’ and Joe’s willingness to teach her everything she would need to know to be director of Post Printing gave her confidence to assume that position. ‘Knowing that I had their support gave me courage,’ she says. Joe also had a passion for the outdoors and liked to hike along the Kern River and in Yosemite. ‘He loved to hike any mountain or trail,’ says his younger daughter, Jennifer. Joe was proud of his American Indian heritage (on his mother’s side) and enjoyed going to Indian powwows. He also loved classic rock music, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Frank Zappa. ‘He was an avid record collector,’ Reynolds says. ‘He’s got an extensive record collection that’s kind of unbelievable.’ Joe is survived by his parents, Joe and Delores Hernandez of Bakersfield; sister Linda Garcia and family of North Hills, brother David Hernandez of Mission Hills, and brother Richard Hernandez of Bakersfield; daughters Adrianna Murillo (Dennis) of Valley Village and Jennifer Hernandez (Jay Farar) of Woodland Hills; and grandchildren Diego Murillo and Jacob Farar (a.k.a. “Jakey Boy”), who called Joe ‘Papa.’ A service will be held tomorrow, December 22, at 10 a.m. at St. John’s Baptist de la Salle Parish, 10738 Havenhurst Ave. in Granada Hills. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Diego’s and Jacob’s college fund at: Washington Mutual Bank, 11160 Balboa Blvd., Granada Hills, CA 91344, Acct. # 3152024019. Checks should be made payable to Diego Murillo or Jacob Farar.

Arthur Hill, an award-winning actor of the stage and screen, died of Alzheimer’s disease on October 22 at Sunrise Senior Living, a Pacific Palisades assisted-living facility. He was 84. Born in Canada, Hill established himself as a gifted actor in London and New York theaters and later branched out into film and television roles. His most famous role, as the emasculated, anguished George in the Broadway production of ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ earned him celebrity and a Tony award for best actor. He played the role in 664 performances between 1962 and 1964. Hill was best known outside the theater on the television show ‘Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law,’ where he played the lead role as a passionate, small-town lawyer from 1971 to 1974. Hill’s entry into acting was accidental. After serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, he attended the University of British Columbia to study law. To pay his way through school, he acted part-time on Canadian radio. Seeing a future in acting, he left law school to join a Vancouver theater group that traveled the country. Sensing more opportunity for his career in England, Hill moved to London in the late 1940s, and starred in dozens of plays over the next eight years, before moving to New York. In 1949, Hill married fellow Canadian Peggy Hassard. He began acting on Broadway in plays such as ‘The Matchmaker,’ ‘Look Homeward, Angel’ and ‘All the Way Home.’ After being recruited by director Alan Schneider in 1962, Hill starred in ‘Woolf.’ In 1968, Hill moved to Los Angeles and made film and television the focus of his career. He played leading and non-leading roles in films like ‘The Andromeda Strain’ (1971), ‘The Chairman’ (1969) and ‘Futureworld’ (1976). He regularly ate lunch with friends of his from Hollywood, including Walter Seltzer, Robert Wise, James Karen, Pat Harrington and Lyman Ward. After his wife became ill with Alzheimer’s in 1986, Hill rarely acted again. He looked after his ill wife and his bipolar daughter, Jenny, until their deaths in 1998 and 1995, respectively. He married Anne-Sophie Taraba in 2001. Two years later he began to show signs of Alzheimer’s, and soon after that he moved into Sunrise Assisted Living. He is survived by his wife and a son, Douglas.

Harry Froehlich, businessman, family man and punster, passed away on December 11. He was 85. The older of two sons, Harry (Hans Wilhelm) Froehlich was born to Lisel and Jakob Froehlich on December 15, 1920 in Mannheim, Germany. His family lived in a second-story flat over his father’s wholesale hardware business. His mother was also active in the business, which distributed nuts and bolts to major Mannheim manufacturers, including Mercedes-Benz and Meier Lanz (today known as John Deere), and to the ‘Stassenbahnwerke,’ a streetcar factory. Hans’ life in Mannheim was cut short in mid-1934 because of indignities he suffered as a young Jew in a new school at age 14. His parents sent him to live with his maternal grandparents in Konstanz, Germany, where he lived two residences from the German/Swiss border and walked daily across the border into Kreuzlingen, Switzerland to continue his education. About this same time, discriminatory laws made it increasingly difficult for Jews to conduct business in Germany. Sensing what was to come, Jakob sold his business and, with Hans’ mother and brother Ernst, moved to Konstanz in early 1937. Hans’ father worked at a family member’s corset factory near the Swiss border, eventually taking over. The Froehlichs crossed the border three times a day, coming home for their noon meal. The Swiss would allow Jakob entry into Switzerland only if he guaranteed that his sons would never apply for Swiss residency. Hans, who was approaching adulthood, applied for a quota number to immigrate to the United States. He always enjoyed working with his hands and had a sharp mechanical mind, so while waiting for his quota number to be called, Hans prepared for employment in a new country by learning toolmaking and mechanics at a trade school in Winterthur, Switzerland. Hans’ American visa was issued the first week of November 1938. On November 9, Hans was in his parents’ flat in Konstanz gathering some clothes he wanted to take on his voyage to America. His parents had been warned that something serious and dangerous was about to happen and therefore did not return to Konstanz that night. The warning turned out to be what came to be called ‘Kristallnacht.’ Although the Gestapo did not come to the Froehlich’s door on that infamous night, late in the afternoon of the next day, Hans was seen at the window of the family flat and ended up being taken into custody at Gestapo headquarters. Fortunately for Hans, the Konstanz Jews who had been rounded up the night before had already been transported to Dachau. So this not-quite-18-year-old youth, with a passport and entry visa to the U.S. in his pocket’who would have greatly inconvenienced the Gestapo had they tried to send him to Dachau’was told to leave Germany within the hour, which he did by crossing into Switzerland. Hans arrived in New York harbor on December 9, 1938 and soon changed his name to Harry William Froehlich. He lived for three years in Pittsburgh with Betty (a cousin) and Wilbur Barker, who had provided Harry the necessary affidavit. He worked two jobs at minimum wage and learned English. Harry’s parents and brother arrived in New York on December 7, 1941–Pearl Harbor Day–on the last ship crossing the Atlantic before President Roosevelt declared war on the Axis powers. His family soon settled in Los Angeles and, after a short stint in the U.S. Army, Harry and his father combined their skills (including Harry’s fluency in English) to start their own garment business: Charmfit of Hollywood, which was an instant success and a firm which Harry’s brother Ernie later joined. On December 31, 1946 Harry married his childhood friend and sweetheart, Anneliese Rothschild, in Mexico City where both of them were visiting Harry’s friend and Anne’s cousin, Karlheinz (Carlos) Gimbel, who had played Cupid. Anne, also from Mannheim Germany, had escaped with her family to Australia, where she finished high school and worked in a cosmetics firm until she reunited with Harry in 1946. Harry was able to bring Anne, who had immigrated to Australia, to Los Angeles as a war bride and they soon owned their first home on Butler Avenue in West L.A. Daughter Marion was born in 1949 and son Clyde in 1951. Charmfit of Hollywood thrived and the young Froehlich family later moved into their beloved home on Marinette Road in Pacific Palisades in 1958. Over the next decades, Anne and Harry filled their home with objects of art they collected on their many trips around the world. Harry and his brother Ernie continued in business together for 10 years beyond their father’s death, until Charmfit was purchased by a large New York company in 1967. Harry stayed with that company until 1971 but then ventured out on his own to start his own firm, Radiant Fashions. Harry and Anne were delighted to become grandparents when Jesse and Will were born in the early 1980s and always made time for them. In 1988, Harry sold Radiant Fashions and did much consulting in the apparel industry during his retirement years, most notably in the former Soviet Union. He and Anne always cherished time with their children, grandchildren and extended family, often combining family time with world travel. Harry is most certainly remembered by all who knew him for his sense of humor and linguistic talents. He could not resist making puns, often employing his knowledge of several languages to do so. He could also fool anyone into thinking he came from the country or region he was visiting because of his ability to pick up the local dialect/accent. He was interested in world events, reading the Los Angeles Times every day until his eyes were mostly closed. As he wished, he took his last breath on Marinette Road, in the home he had lovingly created with his beloved wife Anne. His wife Anne preceded Froehlich in death in 2004. He is survived by his daughter, Marion Froehlich of San Diego; son and daughter-in-law, Clyde and Peggy Froehlich of Davis, CA; granddaughter Jesse Froehlich of Davis; and grandson Will Froehlich of Portland, OR. Memorial Contributions may be made to: * Pacific Palisades Democratic Club, P.O. Box 343, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 * American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 1131, Fairfax, VA 22038-1131 * Anti-Defamation League, 605 3rd Ave., New York, New York 10158 * Junior Blind of America, 5300 Angeles Vista Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90043