Donald Ungar, 1926 - 2025
Donald Leonard Ungar passed away on December 9 at age 99, with his family around him. Don was born in San Francisco on August 29, 1926. He was the beloved son of Kate and Reuben Ungar, and brother to Mildred Wandel, who predeceased him. His wife of 31 years, Carol Waller Ungar, passed away in 1988.
Don is survived by his wife of 34 years, Susan Romer; his sons, Michael, Kenneth, and Mark; daughters-in-law Lisa Spiegel and Ava Vedres Ungar; son-in-law Robert Bomersbach; grandchildren Rachel, Jason, Kayla, Daniel, Alex, Dylan, Kate, Carly, and Shira; and great-grandchildren, Hayden and Noah.
Don grew up in San Francisco, where he attended Mission High School. After serving in the US Army in World War II, he attended UC Berkeley. After several years as a journalist in Washington, DC - where he covered many historical post-war events - he returned to San Francisco to attend law school. He then joined an immigration law firm, where he worked tirelessly for immigrants and refugees from around the world. Among his many impactful cases was on behalf of World War II Filipino war veterans, which took him to the US Supreme Court.
Among Don's many wonderful qualities was an infectious sense of humor, an encyclopedic range of knowledge, from history to sports; and an incredibly high level of empathy which brought great support and comfort to everyone around him. His greatest love was cooking for and traveling with his grandchildren.
Don will be buried at Salem Memorial Park in Colma, CA. In remembrance of his remarkable life, donations can be made to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (www.ilrc.org) and to the New Israel Fund (www.nif.org).