Obituaries - March 23, 2000

* Alex B. Hirsh; Founder of Jewelry Chain

Alex B. Hirsh, 85, founder of a chain of Northern California jewelry stores. Hirsh emigrated from Russia to the United States with his family when he was 2. His father, Abraham Hirsh, started a small watch repair shop. When Alex took over the shop, he expanded it into A. Hirsh & Son Jewelers, with stores in San Jose and Santa Clara. Hirsh, who maintained homes in San Jose and Los Angeles, sold the chain and retired in the late 1980s. A world traveler, he was a collector of Rolls-Royces and Asian art. After his retirement, Hirsh married screenwriter Stephanie Crane, who was a key witness at the murder trial of Mikail Markhasev, the killer of Bill Cosby’s son, Ennis. Crane is also the aunt of actresses Melissa and Sara Gilbert. On Tuesday in Los Angeles of cancer.