Remembering L. Jay Tenenbaum

The Commonwealth Club of California lost a treasured member of its Board of Governors January 16 when L. Jay Tenenbaum passed away in Woodside, California. He was 87.

A retired investment banker, Tenenbaum contributed greatly to the Club, chairing or serving on its development (fundraising) committee and its annual dinner committee. He was generous with his time and effort and, in the words of one Club executive, was a "gung-ho fundraiser" ready to call potential supporters of the Club and bring new people into the fold.

Tenenbaum joined the trading and arbitrage business of investment firm Goldman Sachs & Co. in 1953, and he was made a partner in 1958. He remained head of trading & arbitrage until 1976 and became a limited partner in San Francisco.

Writing on Forbes.com, Robert Lenzner noted the loss of Tenenbaum, his former boss at Goldman Sachs in the 1960s. "Tenenbaum was an assiduous master to his apprentice, and I honor his crucial role in my development here in this writing," wrote Lenzner. "He chose to retire early and to become a pillar of San Francisco activities like the San Francisco ballet and his beloved Commonwealth Club, where he played a key role."

He made his presence felt throughout San Francisco. A former vice chairman of the San Francisco Ballet, Tenenbaum served on its board for 28 years. He also served on the boards of KQED and the Stern Grove Festival Board. He was San Francisco's deputy chief of protocol from 1992 to 1996. And for the past 12 years, he served on the Commonwealth Club's Board of Governors.

Tenenbaum majored in mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University. He was a 1st lieutenant in the 10th Mountain Division during World War II and held the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and 2 Purple Hearts. Serving in Italy, he earned one of his purple hearts when he was shot in the same engagement that saw the wounding of future Senator Bob Dole, who served in a neighboring regiment.

An avid tennis player, he had a clay court at his house where he liked to invite friends to play. His love for the game extended to his support for Youth Tennis Advantage, a group that taught inner city children to increase their skills and self-confidence through playing tennis.

We are sad for the loss of this local treasure, but we're heartened by the knowledge of all of the things he did for The Commonwealth Club and the people of the Bay Area.

Elizabeth Edwards, RIP

Elizabeth Edwards appeared at The Commonwealth Club of California in Silicon Valley on October 24, 2006. Photo by Paul Eric Felder.

Elizabeth Edwards, an attorney and the wife of former two-time Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, passed away today after a long battle with cancer. She was only 61.

Edwards discussed her book Saving Graces in her October 2006 appearance at The Commonwealth Club in Silicon Valley.

We're sorry to report that we don't have audio or video of that speech available. You might want to check out John Edwards' own 2006 address to the Club, which is available in streaming audio.

L. W. "Bill" Lane, 1919-2010

The Hon. L. W. Lane Jr., the former publisher who built Sunset magazine into one of the country's leading regional publications and a pioneering voice of conservation, passed away July 31, 2010, at the age of 90.

The San Jose Mercury News noted that Lane was a Republican "in the Teddy Roosevelt model of conservation," and he gave generously of his time and money to regional conservation efforts. But he was a generous philanthropist for many organizations, including his alma mater, Stanford, where he donated $5 million in 2005 to endow the Bill Lane Center for the American West.

Lane was also a longtime member of The Commonwealth Club's Board of Governors – in fact, he was the longest-serving member of the board, where he provided invaluable help and expertise. For example, when The Club decided The Commonwealth magazine would begin to accept paid third-party advertising, Lane sat down with The Club's publishing staff to discuss pitfalls and potential, which included many of the lessons he and his family had learned through their long stewardship of Sunset.

But that was only one of his contributions to The Club. Lane noted that his involvement with The Commonwealth Club went all the way back to the 1940s, when his naval commanding officer assigned him to attend Club lunch meetings to keep track of what Club speakers were saying about the war and world events. From Commonwealth magazine redesigns to increasing the visibility of The Club's California Book Awards to underwriting radio broadcasts, Bill Lane left a great legacy – and a lot of friends – at The Commonwealth Club.

We will miss him very much.

Frank McCourt, 1930-2009

It's been a very rough summer, in terms of the toll of sad obituaries. While much of the country was taken up in the death and funeral of pop singer Michael Jackson, we've seen a number of other deaths recently, including Ed McMahon, Karl Malden, Walter Cronkite, and others. Now, we pass along the sad news that Frank McCourt, the Ireland-born novelist, has passed away at the age of 78.

When McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes, spoke to The Commonwealth Club in November 2007, he was full of great stories about his family, meeting the pope, teaching in New York City, and much more. Though his writings went far beyond the popular Angela's Ashes, he will likely always be remembered for that funny and sad tale of growing up desperately poor in Ireland, and his final escape to the New World of New York City, where he would become a teacher.

His childhood was one of incredible deprivation and loss, but his characteristically sardonic humor persisted to the end, as he urged the attendees of his Club speech to "enjoy your misery."

(Photo by Beth Byrne)