Archived Celebrations

Marla and Gideon Stein of Jerusalem announce the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter, Adi Shahar Stein, on Dec 24.

The ceremony will be held at Robinson’s Arch — the egalitarian prayer section of the Western Wall. Grandparents are Chana and Wilfred Stein of Jerusalem and Arlene Shalinsky of Prairie Village and the late Leo Shalinsky. Adi will be joined by her parents, grandparents, older siblings, Yosef and Yael, and U.S. and Israeli aunts, uncles and cousins for the occasion including a family trip to Jordan immediately following.

Adi is a seventh-grader at the Leyada middle school in Jerusalem. She is an avid fan of reading, art, dance and music — especially musical productions. She enjoys traveling with her family both in Israel and abroad and also camping with her youth group. She has attended Camp Ramah in both Colorado and Northern California for the past five summers. Adi also had an aliyah on her 12th birthday, Rosh Hodesh Nisan, (which fell on April 6, 2019) at the Conservative synagogue of Beit HaKerem, Jerusalem. Adi was proud to wear her new tallit, purchased in support of Women of the Wall organization, which meets on Rosh Hodesh at the Western Wall.

Patsy Dunn Shanberg will celebrate her 90th birthday with Congregation Beth Torah at their Shabbat Hanukkah service on Friday evening, Dec. 27. Festivities begin at 5:45 p.m. when latkes will be served at nosh (note the earlier than usual time). The Shabbat service and Hanukkah celebration will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary, followed by the oneg Shabbat with birthday cake at approximately 7:45 p.m.

Patsy’s children Robin Shanberg, Kent Shanberg, Debbi Dunn Solomon, Neil Shanberg, Daniel Dunn and their families are sponsoring the refreshments in her honor and invite the community to join in congratulating her. All are welcome.

Thomas and Jennifer Klein announce the Bar Mitzvah of their son, David Secrest, at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.

David is the grandson of Bonnie and Leonard Friedman. His siblings are Alyssa Secrest and Annie and Saige Klein.

Relatives and friends are invited to worship with the family and to attend the Kiddush following the service.

David enjoys playing and watching basketball. For his mitzvah project, he volunteered at the Jewish Family Services Food Pantry.

Joshua and Laura Galler announce the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Owen Benjamin Galler, at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, at Congregation Beth Shalom.

Owen is the grandson of Debbi Galler of Overland Park and Karen Sunde of Lenexa. He has one brother, Daniel Garrison Galler.

Relatives and friends are invited to worship with the family and to attend the Kiddush between the Mincha and Ma’ariv/Havdalah services.

Owen’s hobbies and activities include supporting Blue Valley TEAMSoccer and Special Olympics basketball, track and field, swimming, bowling and soccer. For his mitzvah project, he helped his parents raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, JDRF, Special Olympics and Local Autism Awareness charities.

Carrie Shuchart and Minsok Pak were married on Aug. 17 at the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis.

Carrie grew up in Leawood and is a graduate of Pembroke Hill School, Harvard University and the MBA program of Columbia University. She is the director for experience transformation and communication at McKinsey & Company. She is the daughter of Stevie and John Shuchart, formerly of Leawood and recently of Bethesda, Maryland.

Minsok is an executive vice president and the chief strategy and innovation officer at the Target Corporation in Minneapolis. He graduated from Oberlin College, where he is now a trustee, and received an MBA from Stanford. He is the son of Soon Ja and Dong Hwan Pak of Dallas and the father of Hanna Pak.

Following a honeymoon in Bora Bora, the couple reside in Minneapolis.

Brodie and Daniel Gold announce the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter, Hannah Gabrielle Gold, at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at Congregation Beth Shalom.

Hannah is the granddaughter of Barbara Herman of Overland Park and Risa and Robert Gold of Manalapan, New Jersey. She has an older brother, Jacob, and a younger sister, Sarah.

Relatives and friends are invited to worship with the family and attend the Kiddush luncheon following the service.

Hannah enjoys dancing, aerial arts, acting, sewing and DIY projects. For her Bat Mitzvah project, she partnered with Donate2Dance to collect gently used dance shoes, dance wear and dance costumes. These items will be given to Kansas City Young Audience, a nonprofit agency serving mostly lower income students.

Dr. Ariel Bodker and Dr. Geoffrey Dang-Vu were joyfully married on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019, at Trentadue Winery in Geyserville, California.

Ariel is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Geoffrey is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. They met their first year of medical school in the anatomy lab at Rush Medical College in Chicago. The couple currently resides in Milwaukee while Ariel completes her fellowship in cardiology and Geoffrey completes his fellowship in gastroenterology, both at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

The bride is the daughter of Tensy Marcos-Bodker and Stuart Bodker, Leawood. She is the granddaughter of Stanley and Barbara Bodker, Phoenix, and the late Dorothy Bodker, and the late Osvaldo and Olga Marcos.

The groom is the son of Dr. Bay Dang-Vu and Hoa Dang-Vu, Oakland, California. He is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Nuu Dai and Mr. and Mrs. Dang-Vu Luong.

The bride’s sister, Jessica Bodker, served as maid of honor and the groom’s childhood friend, Alexander Weber-Shapiro, served as best man.

Bridesmaids were Meghan Bugosh, Christine Dang-Vu, Lauren Ross, Lauren Samet, Becca Sarran and Emmy Yura. Groomsmen were Michael Bodker, Justin Chen, Jordan Fields, Kyle Lehenbauer, Mark Muranishi and Justin Rabinowitz. Flower girls were Sabrina Cascarilla and Margaret Eidt. Timothy Eidt and Nathaniel Eidt served as ring bearers. 

The ceremony was officiated by Rabbi Jacqueline Mates-Muchin, Oakland. The bride will be keeping her maiden name.

Lisa and Matthew Reeves announce the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter, Abigail Jordan Reeves, at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah at The Jewish Community Campus.

Abby is the granddaughter of Sheryl and Michael Porter and Marian and Charles Reeves. She is the great-granddaughter of Ruth Kreiter of Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Abby has two older brothers, Sam and Jack Reeves.

Relatives and friends are invited to worship with the family and to attend the Kiddush luncheon following the service.

Abby loves volleyball, reading and spending time with friends. For her mitzvah project, Abby collected books and monetary donations that she used to establish a pre-K and kindergarten library (which she set up) at Operation Breakthrough.

Leslie and Chris Myers of Chicago announce the birth Sept. 10 of their daughter, Sadie Lillian Myers. Grandparents are Suzi and Bruce Blackman of Overland Park and Martha and Bob Myers of Omaha, Nebraska. Great-grandmothers are Sue Blackman and Lillian Yeddis, both of blessed memory, for whom Sadie is named.

Marsha Johnston and Dr. Robert Johnston happily announce the engagement of their son, Max, to the delightful Dini Bialestock of Crown Heights, New York.

Max is the grandson of Shirley Pener and the late Harold Pener as well as the late Anne and Ben Johnston. His sisters Lily, Sam, along with her wife Mandy, and Aimee join us in wishing them a life of good health and happiness together.