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Submitted: 3/25/21 • Approved: 4/1/21 • Last Updated: 4/4/21 • R401464-G0-S3
US Navy
October 15, 1926 - August 31, 2007
*Obituary
LIFSON, , KALMAN ALAN Passed away peacefully at home on Friday, August 31, surrounded by loved ones and his cherished pets. Kal was preceded in death by his parents, Maurice and Gertrude Lifson, and by his first wife and mother of his three children, Irene Londer Lifson. The beloved husband of Judith Abrams Lifson for 38 years, Kal leaves behind a close-knit family of three children, Valerie and Wade Leftwich of Ithaca, New York, Kipp Lifson of Dallas, and Ione and Don Spear, of Portland, Oregon; two step-children, Stacey and Don Kivowitz of Dallas, and Judge Grant and Katie Dorfman, of Houston; and nine much-adored grandchildren: Sara and Claire Lifson, Max and Molly Leftwich, Brenner, Logan and Anna Spear, and Emma and Ryan Dorfman. Kal is also survived by his sister and her husband, Helen and Jimmy Ehrlich of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and by his brother, Dr. William Lifson of Petaluma, California. Kal was born on October 15, 1926, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Although his college education was interrupted by two active-duty tours as an officer in the United States Navy, Kal went on to earn his Bachelor of Science degree in Naval Technology, a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Minnesota and his Ph.D in Industrial Psychology at Purdue University. In 1954, Kal moved to Dallas and founded Lifson, Wilson, Ferguson & Winick, which he built to become the largest general management consulting firm in the Southwest. In 1964, Kal became a member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), and later the World's President's Organization (WPO), an association in which he and Judith remained actively involved until his death. Kal was highly respected for his business acumen as an international industrial psychologist and was acknowledged as a pioneer in the specialized fields of organizational structure and employee/executive testing and hiring. The evaluative surveys and techniques he developed are still in widespread use today, and his many clients over the years included such firms as Neiman-Marcus, American Airlines, Altec-Lansing, Southland Corporation, and Sally Beauty Supply. Kal also served as the Chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board based in Little Rock, Arkansas, and as the Chairman of the Harris Co. Department Stores in Northern California. Kal served on numerous other boards as well, including the boards of the World Presidents' Organization and the American Psychological Association. Through YPO and numerous family trips, Kal and Judith traveled the globe together, and made many good and lasting friends the world over. Kal was a talented chef and in all he did was a consummate connoisseur of life - known to all for his refined taste in food and fashion and for his enjoyment of exotic cultures and locales. He was an enthusiastic sportsman - a lifelong golfer who fished the Arctic Circle, skied the Alps, and scuba-dived the Polynesian Islands. He was a lifelong student of languages, a voracious reader of books, and a keen competitor in chess and backgammon. In his later years, Kal took special pride and joy in spending time with his grandchildren, and they will always treasure the family trips that he and Judith organized, in Puerto Vallarta, Aspen, and Sun Valley, Idaho. Kal was equally vigorous in his intellectual life and over the years developed a complex statistical method for predicting the market value of financial institutions. In his later months, he found this use of his analytical skills to be a therapeutic enjoyment that kept him sharp until the end. A memorial service will be held on Friday, September 7, 2007, at 11:00 a.m., at the Temple Emanuel Main Sanctuary with a reception to follow. The family requests that any charitable donations in Kal's memory be made to the SPCA of Texas, 2400 Lone Star Drive, Dallas, TX 75212, or to the charity of your choice. Dignity Memorial Sparkman Hillcrest 7405 W. Northwest Hwy. Dallas (214) 363-5401
Published in Dallas Morning News from Sep. 5 to Sep. 6, 2007.
Photo courtesy of Annette Shaw
Contributed on 3/25/21 by hawkinsdonna48
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Record #: 401464
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