* Pearl Feldman; Jewish Grandmother Inspired Best-Seller

Pearl Feldman, 96, the colorful Jewish grandmother who inspired the best-selling book “Tessie and Pearlie: A Granddaughter’s Story.” Born in New York and brought up in Brooklyn, Feldman quit school at 13 to support her family as a secretary. Widowed, she lived in Santa Monica from 1984 until 1996 and in 1994 was the subject of a Times Magazine article by her granddaughter, author Joy Horowitz. The article about Feldman and Horowitz’s other grandmother, Tessie Weinreb, led to Horowitz’s book on their experiences growing into Jewish matriarchs over nine decades. When Horowitz approached Feldman with her idea, the grandmother replied with enthusiasm: “Joyala, my life is an open book. You just tell me when.” Feldman spoke freely of her zest for life, advising: “It’s good to have outside interests, to keep the mind busy. It’s like a sore in your heart to not be involved.” She confessed to enjoying telling “dirty jokes” and urged her grandchildren to maintain an active sex life. Feldman danced with a Santa Monica folk-dancing troupe, the Dancing Dolls, until 1993 when she fell during a two-step routine. She also volunteered for many years at the Santa Monica Hospital, Crossroads School, the Early Years School and several retirement homes during her dozen years in California. On Sunday in Portland, Maine, of a heart attack.

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* Dr. Hubert Hemsley; Consultant on African American Health Issues

Dr. Hubert Hemsley, 66, a popular obstetrician and consultant on African American health problems who was said to have “delivered half of Compton.” A native of Philadelphia, Hemsley was educated at Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Thomas Jefferson Medical School. In 1968, he established his obstetrics and gynecology office in Compton, naming it the Bethune Medical Center in honor of his alma mater. In 1971, he was appointed to the Special Senate Advisory Board on the Effects of Aging in the African American Community. Hemsley also served as president of the Charles Drew Medical Society. He had taught obstetrics at USC, lectured at Stanford and the University of Virginia, and most recently was affiliated with the Leavey Maternal Center at St. Francis Medical Center. On Sept. 16 in Compton.

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* Richard N. Kauffman; Color Landscape Photography Pioneer

Richard Newmark Kauffman, 82, a pioneer in color landscape photography. The Los Angeles native served in Germany during World War II and worked throughout his life for the family-run printing company H.S. Crocker. Known for his museum-quality, nonfading color prints, Kauffman exhibited his work in one-man shows at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Palace of the Legion of Honor and Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. His photographs also illustrated several books, including “Wilderness: The Sierra Nevada,” “The Primal Alliance: Earth and Ocean,” “Headlands” and “The Hill Towns of Italy,” which earned him a Commonwealth Club California Book Award in 1985. On Monday in Millbrae, Calif., of lung cancer.

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* James H. Lavenson; Businessman, Hotelier and Resort Owner

James H. Lavenson, 79, businessman, hotelier and former owner of the Santa Barbara County resort San Ysidro Ranch. After serving in the Army during World War II, Lavenson joined his father’s advertising firm, the Lavenson Bureau, in his native Philadelphia. Later, as a director of Sonesta International Hotels, he chaired the conglomerate’s Hartmann Luggage, Premier Corp., Mad magazine and Doxsee Foods components, and eventually was named president of the chain’s prestigious Plaza Hotel in New York. Lavenson became known for his American Marketing Assn. keynote address “Think Strawberries,” about his transformation of the Plaza. The speech has been reprinted in countless hotel textbooks and training manuals. Lavenson also wrote a monthly column in Sales and Marketing Management Magazine titled “Jaundiced Eye.” After retiring from Sonesta in 1976, Lavenson bought the historic San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito and other California properties, operating them under his SYR Corp. He sold the California enterprise in 1987 to retire to Maine. A yachtsman and a horseman, Lavenson was active in the Camden Yacht Club and had ridden with the Auxiliary Mounted Police in Manhattan and the Auxiliary Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department. On Saturday in Rockport, Maine.

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* Edwin W. Searles; Entertainer in Vaudeville, Films and TV

Edwin W. Searles, 84, an entertainer in vaudeville, films and television. Searles Started in vaudeville and worked in the “Our Gang” comedy short films. He worked with Bob Hope entertaining the military and with such performers as Jerry Lewis, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. Searles appeared in films including “The Ten Commandments” and “Ben-Hur” and in television series such as “Starsky and Hutch” and “CHiPs.” On Tuesday in North Hollywood.