Michael (“Mike”) Leb, 72, passed away on December 29, 2024, surrounded by his family and closest friends.

Born in Miami, Florida, to Mickey and Sam Leb, he grew up in North Miami Beach enjoying his early years with his older brother Stephen, younger brother Robert and sister-in-law Wendy.

Mike was an extremely loving man of great devotion to everyone in his life. He first met his wife, Fran, when he was 12 years old and knew very quickly that he wanted to dedicate himself to making a wonderful life with her.

In 1972, at the ages of 19 and 20, they got married and spent 52 amazing years building that wonderful life together and, in 1987, made their home in Pacific Palisades. He always made it clear that he had no regrets and would not have changed a thing because if he had done anything differently, he might not have ended up with this perfect life with Fran.

Mike was a devoted father to his daughter, Lauren, and son, Alex, and later welcomed their spouses, Noah and Alaina, into the family with enthusiastic and open arms. In his last 11 years, he became “G” to his four grandchildren, Jack, Rhys, Lily and Blake, who will always remember him for the overpowering love and affection he showed them.

Devoting his working life to being an incredible OB-GYN, in 1987, Mike took over the only OB-GYN practice in Pacific Palisades before moving it to Santa Monica years later. Simultaneously, Mike ran a clinic focused on the most under-served communities in Los Angeles, which he would continue to do throughout the entirety of his career.

His dedication to his patients went so far as to spend his free time becoming fluent in Spanish to communicate better, and finding gifts to give to patients and their children. He was also dedicated to his employees, whom he considered family, working with some for as long as 35 years.

Mike also had many friends who became family. With them, he enthusiastically hosted and cooked, traveled around the world, and spent quality time inquiring about their lives and interests. He truly loved and thought the world of everyone that he called “friend” and would have done, and did do, anything for them.

Mike will always be remembered for his incredible sense of humor, great intelligence, awe-inspiring inquisitiveness, surprising artistic talent, and truly empathetic and genuine nature.

His family would love to welcome all to a memorial in his honor, which will take place at Kehillat Israel in Pacific Palisades on Sunday, January 12, at 2 p.m.

1953-2024

Nancee was raised in West Los Angeles by her parents, Alvin and Audrey Greenwald. She and he first husband, Scott Enyart, raised their two children, Jamie and Shawna, in Santa Monica.

She moved to the Palisades in the ’90s and lived here for the rest of her life. She worked as the communications director at Kehillat Israel synagogue and was responsible for their public relations, including photographing the construction of the new synagogue.

She worked for several other businesses in the Palisades before landing her dream job as the grants and operations manager for the Herb Alpert Foundation. She spent the next 14 years in a pivotal role supporting the foundation’s grantmaking process and operations.

Her dedication and meticulous management of the foundation’s administrative needs and grantee relationships helped shape its impactful philanthropic efforts. Nancee’s work contributed to the foundation’s success and its mission to support the arts and arts education in the Los Angeles community and beyond. She left an indelible mark on the foundation and the many communities it serves. She retired from the foundation in 2020 to spend more time with her family.

Nancee spent the last 15 years of her life married to Steve Cron. They travelled the world together, especially enjoying the adventure of new places that were off the beaten path, such as Iran, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Turkey, Cuba, Southeast Asia and numerous countries in Eastern Europe.

Nancee left an indelible mark on everyone she met. She was enthusiastic, inquisitive and eager to embrace new people, experiences and cultures. She was quick to laugh and had an optimistic outlook on life that allowed her to always see the good in people.

Family was the most important part of Nancee’s life, and she maintained close relationships with her brothers, Paul and Randy Greenwald, and their wives, Isabel and Marni, as well as numerous aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, as well as her children, Jamie and Shawna, her son-in-law Jamend, and her grandchildren, Madelyn and Caleb. She was also very close with Steve’s kids, Matt, Jenn and Julie Cron, and Matt’s wife, Val, and their children, Max and Zella.

Nancee will be deeply missed by her numerous friends, work colleagues and family. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, anyone who is so inclined send a donation to the UCLA Lung Transplant Program.

August 23, 1943 – September 30, 2024

Mary Meanor Naef was born on August 23, 1943, in Chicago, Illinois. Shortly after birth she was adopted from The Cradle society by Margaret and Edward Meanor of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

Mary Attended The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr from kindergarten through high school. Her talent at drawing and sculpture was recognized early, and she participated in extracurricular art instruction from an early age. Mary also excelled at math but did not pursue that subject academically.

During the 1950s and 1960s she regularly traveled with her parents and older sister, Jane, to New York City for theater and art museum visits. During the winters they traveled to the island of St. Croix in the Caribbean Sea and in summers to Eaton’s Ranch in Wolf, Wyoming.

After Baldwin in 1962 Mary matriculated at Scripps College in Claremont, California. Leaving Philadelphia for California was evidence of Mary’s very adventuresome spirit. At Scripps College Mary pursued a major in fine art with a focus on sculpture.

In a Scripps College ceramics class, she met her future husband, Weston Naef, who was enrolled at Claremont Men’s College (now Claremont McKenna College), where he was pursuing pre-law studies, and taking classes in fine art and art history as electives.

Mary and Weston fell in love, were married and remained together for more than 60 years. In 1964 Mary persuaded Weston to drop law studies and to pursue an advanced degree in art history. Together they continued studies at Ohio State University, where Mary earned her B.A. degree in sculpture.

After OSU Mary enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she earned an MFA degree in sculpture. At RISD Mary’s sculpture evolved from figurative to abstract shapes carved in wood or stone.

In 1969 Mary and Weston relocated from Providence, Rhode Island, to New York City. Rather than live uptown where some of her Philadelphia friends chose to be, Mary decided a downtown location was more desirable, and she took on the challenge of transforming the fourth floor of an empty warehouse space into an unconventional residence that provided her with a studio in a neighborhood filled with artists that was soon called “Soho.”

In NYC Mary devised an entirely new way of creating sensuous abstract sculpture outside the traditional stone and marble materials. She stretched canvas over a plywood matrix to realize an entirely new system of shapes. When the stretched canvas-over-plywood was primed and coated with vinyl spray paint, the results had a look that was somewhere between hand- and machine-made.

Even more than her life in art, nothing was more important to Mary than her family. In 1975 a son, Edward, was born, and in 1980, a daughter, Ella.

After the arrival of children, Mary’s sculpture took a new direction. She committed herself to the task of giving shape to the lives of her offspring. In 1984 Mary and Weston relocated from NYC to Pacific Palisades.

The children were enrolled in St. Matthew’s Parish School, and Mary became active in matters pertaining to school, and Parish management and direction. She also became an active volunteer for the St. Matthew’s Thrift Shop for more than 20 years.

Mary loved to travel and was intensely curious. There was no trip without serious preparation for what to see and what to do. Art museums and galleries were a special interest when she visited new cities, and she rarely stayed in a new place less than a week.

Travel inspired a love of food, and when back home, she would add a dish or two to her culinary repertoire, which she was eager to share with family and friends.

Mary lived a life true to herself, not the life others expected of her. She was loved by all who knew her for her grace, generosity, intelligence and character.

Mary is survived by her husband, Weston, by her children Edward Naef (Jana) and Ella Naef (Lisa), as well as by her sister, Jane M. Hastings (Joe deceased), and by her niece, Elizabeth Block (Luke), and her nephews, Richard Hastings, William Hastings (Diane), and Robert Hastings (Alison).

Almost every day during her final months Mary visited online with her grandchildren, Natalia and David Naef, who live in Boston.

The family extends sincere thanks to those who remembered Mary in their prayers, to Patricia Eshaghian, M.D., and the doctors involved with her care, as well as the caregivers who comforted Mary during her final months: Marva, Saalma, Bridgette, Kristina, Amy and Michelle.