Obituary

Ralph "Sonny" Shankman was born to Joe and Lena (Margolin) Shankman on October 31, 1929.

Sonny is survived by his brother, Dr. Sidney Shankman, an eminent psychiatrist in Washington, DC. He had two beloved sisters who preceded him in death, Shifri (Sy) Kutner and Dorothy (MC) Kleinfeldt. He was also preceded in death by his wife, Barbara (Katz). Sonny had two children, Barry Shankman (Betty) residing in Anza, CA, and Leslie Shankman-Cohn of Memphis. He had three grandchildren – Ariel Cohn (Hazel) and Aaron Cohn, both in Scottsdale, AZ, and Barbara Weems (Blake), of Austin, TX. He was anxiously awaiting the birth of his first great-grand child due to Ari and Hazel in a few weeks.

His family was among the founders of the Margolin Hebrew Academy. He was always very active at Baron Hirsh Synagogue even from an early age, being Aleph Godol of his AZA chapter, and President of the Baron Hirsh Junior Congregation. He met his one true love, Barbara, at a high school fraternity party, and proposed to her within weeks of their meeting. They both loved each other deeply, and worked and played together until her unfortunate passing at too early an age, in 1974. They both loved travel, and the list of places they have been is too long to be included here.

Sonny took time off from his budding building career to attend Cornell University's Restaurant Management program, as he was working in his cousin's restaurant The Embers as maître d'. Eventually he returned to his passion of building custom homes and apartments, and partnered with Barbara, an accomplished interior designer in her own right, going on to build the first townhomes in Memphis. He received the first-place award in the country for multi-dwellings over other entries from Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. His work was featured in local papers, along with articles in national magazines including the Times, News Week, Harper's Bazaar, and American Builder Magazine. Additionally he was awarded four coveted citations form the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for excellence and imagination in building.

After Barbara passed away, his passion for the building industry waned, and he semi-retired selling real estate. Friendships had always been a big part of his life, and he was doubly blessed to have so many dear and caring friends. Sonny, himself was a very caring and dedicated volunteer, and had been nominated for the Jefferson Award for Volunteer work, and received the Spirit of Giving Award which honors volunteers who are 65 years of age and older. He had volunteered at the Cancer Society for many years, but was passionate about his commitment to the Crisis Center, where he volunteered for over 30 years, until his death. The Crisis Center honored him by establishing the annual Sonny Shankman Lifetime Achievement Award and bestowed the inaugural honor to him.

Sonny will be missed by his surviving family and many friends. Shiva will be held at the home of Leslie Shankman-Cohn. Please call Baron Hirsch synagogue for the address.

Funeral service will be 12 (Noon), Wednesday, July 18 at The Sam Abraham Chapel in Baron Hirsch Cemetery. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, please make any donations in his honor to the Crisis Center, Baron Hirsch Synagogue, or the charity of your choice.

Canale Funeral Directors