The Orange County Jewish community mourns the passing of longtime Jewish Federation & Family Services board member and major investor, Charles D. Karp. Charles and his wife, Diane, have had a distinguished history of Federation involvement over the past decades: both have served as president of the Long Beach Federation and as Western Region UJA chairs; Charles also served as its campaign chair, and Diane was its Women’s Division president. In Orange County, where they have made their home over the last 16 years, Charles was campaign chair, major gifts chair and president of Federation. He was a great believer and supporter of medical research, especially in the area of Parkinson’s disease and stem cell research. Diane continues to be involved with Women’s Philanthropy and its Lion of Judah program.
In 2007 Charles and Diane Karp set a standard for the Orange County Jewish community in making the largest-ever cash investment by an individual or family in Jewish Federation’s then-42-year history. The commitment benefits JFFS’s Generations Fund, Connect 2 Community Initiatives, Women’s Philanthropy, SkillsetNPO™ training program, the Ruth Feuerstein Scholarship program, senior assisted living at Heritage Pointe, the building fund of Chabad of North Orange County, The Hebew Academy, a Jewish free loan fund, counseling and emergency aid programs and camperships, as well as Hoag Hospital, the Orange County Rescue Mission, Doctors without Borders, Parkinson’s disease research and other projects chosen by the family.
At the time Karp said, “I cannot think of any better moment in my life besides marrying my wife and watching the birth of my kids. Nothing can make me feel better…I had kind of a confirmation from above that we’d done the right thing. My stockbroker called to tell me the exact dollar value of the shares I’d sold to fund this gift. We knew it would be over $500,000. When he gave me the number, I nearly fainted. He said it’s $613,000. 613 – the number of mitzvot in the Torah.” (Orange County Jewish Life, “Giving Is an All-time Thing,” by Harriette Ellis, October 2007, pages 54-59.)
In addition to his wife, Diane Karp, Karp is survived by his daughters, Elizabeth (Jeffrey) Weinstein and Stephanie (Ryan) Loosvelt; grandchildren, Zoe and Mia Weinstein and Xander and Stone Loosvelt; sisters, Charlotte (Hy) Fogel and Sonia (Gunnar) Lucas; and brother-in-law, Jeffrey (Dr. Lesley MacArthur) Levine.
Funeral services were held Friday, June 24, at Temple Bat Yahm, 1011 Camelback Street, Newport Beach.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Hebrew Academy at 11401 Willow Lane, Huntington Beach, CA 92647 or the Jewish Federation & Family Services of Orange County at One Federation Way, Suite 210, Irvine, CA 92603.