Leonard Efron

Leonard Efron was born August 24, 1935, in the Bronx, the younger son of Dora and Nathan Efron, poor Jewish immigrants from Poland. Since Len’s parents came to the U.S. from Bocki, a small “shtetl” (village) near Bialystok, Len’s first language was Yiddish.

Nobody is perfect, but Len Efron sure came close……….in terms of intelligence, scientific achievements, athleticism, love of nature, and popularity. He was beloved by all: his wife of 63 years, his sons, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, extended family, colleagues, neighbors, and numerous friends.

Len was the highly respected and admired president of DeWitt Clinton High School, class of 1953, in the Bronx. He left apartment life, recipient of a full scholarship, to major in Engineering at Michigan State University. After his B.S. from MSU, Len continued, with another scholarship, to earn his M.S. in Engineering studies at Stanford. Then he returned to MSU, earning his Ph.D. in 1964, while serving as an instructor in the College of Engineering. Soon after, Len and his wife Joy, moved to Southern California.

Len was consistently modest about his accomplishments, which included multiple NASA awards for space exploration, as well as numerous awards for being one of the best marathon runners in Southern California. He was a double black diamond skier, who taught three generations of family and friends to ski; he was a very fast hiker/mountain climber, and a world traveler who loved snorkeling in international waters, One of Len’s JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) colleagues told Joy: “Len is one of the finest human beings to have ever been born on this earth.”

Len worked hard but always had to get as much as possible out of life. He exemplified everything good about humankind. His adventurous life was paired with ethical behavior at all times. He lived life to the fullest, totally enjoying scientific, family and travel adventures with a sense of humor. He was truly a family man who supported his wife, Joy, in her profession; he encouraged and motivated his sons, Daniel Lee Efron and Neal Jordan Efron, throughout their education and careers. He was beloved by Danny’s wife, Giovanna Efron, and Neal’s wife, Leila Efron, as well as grandsons George and Jeffrey Castrillon, and Kethan and Kaimana Efron, and the entire extended family. He welcomed and embraced our multi-cultural family; Len was respected and loved by all.

The Efron home was always open for visitors, holiday celebrations, extended family, colleagues and friends. Len loved nature and animals. Pets included “the usual” dogs, cats and rabbit, but also, “Tsuris, the Fox”, and “Chuck, the Duck”.

Since Len loved outdoor adventures, Danny and Neal both started “climbing mountains” (on Len’s back), hiking and camping before one year of age. He was extremely fast! On one of the hikes in the Grand Canyon, with family and friends, all started together at the South Rim and went down to Phantom Ranch. However, Len ran down, then up to the North Rim, then back down to the Phantom Ranch, to meet family and friends as they arrived from the South Rim. From bungee jumping off a bridge 140 feet into a roaring river in New Zealand to being chased by sharks off Oahu’s North Shore, Len cherished his adventures with family and friends.

As a rocket scientist, Len “surfed the solar system for 37 years while at JPL”. He represented NASA for 22 years, working with Japanese space agencies. He loved his career, navigating spacecraft to celestial bodies—from Mercury all the way to Pluto. Some of his multiple accomplishments in space exploration included awards from Japanese space agencies, International Cometary Exploration (which navigated the first spacecraft through the tail of a comet--Comet Giacobini-Zinner), missions to Halley's Comet, Apollo, Mariner Mars, Ulysses. Len is quoted numerous times in the book, The Navigators: A History of NASA's Deep Space Navigation, by Andrew J. Butrica.

Len and Joy moved to California in 1964 and lived in Northridge from 1970 until losing their home in the Northridge earthquake of 1994. They then moved to Beachwood Canyon in Hollywood, enlarging and expanding their experiences with neighbors not necessarily in the scientific world, but talented in the entertainment and artistic world.

He was an advocate for social justice and was consistently helping others, even to the point of frequently picking up hitchhikers who needed a ride. Though always helping others, he was sometimes accused of being “frugal” for himself. Travel adventures throughout the world……exploring space, the earth, snorkeling in the oceans…..were never in luxurious style. A motel/hotel was for showering and sleeping; a car was for the purpose of getting from one place to another. Often Len and Joy would return from a weekend travel adventure by 5 a.m. on Monday, shower and go to work. As newcomers to Southern California in 1965, Len and Joy decided to explore Mexico and Central America. The Pan American highway had not yet been built, and Len drove from Los Angeles to Managua, Nicaragua, including driving through rivers.

Often called “The Cat with Nine Lives,” Len survived numerous accidents and health scares. In November, 1999, he had one of his meetings scheduled with Japanese space agencies. He arrived a couple of days early in order to climb Mt. Fuji for the second time. Only three other people ascended Mt. Fuji that cold, stormy, winter day. At the beginning of the descent, Len fell 300 feet. His life was saved by two strangers, Keiko Asano and Kazuhito Hachiya, who stayed with him all night on the mountain, keeping him warm while waiting for rescue teams to be able to ascend (the next day) due to the blizzard. Months later, after recovering from his injuries, he brought his two rescuers to the U.S., where they received NASA Achievement Awards….and then, Len, his rescuers, and some family members hiked/climbed two California mountains.

Leonard Efron had a full and meaningful life for 90 years, and, during the past 12 years, he never complained about Parkinson’s. Perhaps we are “selfish” in wanting him to still be here; rest in peace, our beloved Len.