Karen Lois (Hecht) Jessum, passed away peacefully on March 11th, 2025, in Reseda, CA. She was 92.
Karen was born in Newark, New Jersey on October 23rd, 1932 to Rose Kaufman and Jacques Hecht. Karen had a lifelong passion for education and entered college at the age of 16. She attended New York University where she earned her Master's degree, in Physical Therapy, and was awarded a prestigious internship at Bellvue Hospital in Manhattan. She met her husband, Richard Jessum, in PT school and they moved west to Los Angeles where she worked as the Director of Rehabilitation for the Los Angeles Department of Health. She attended a special 2-year masters program, in Public Health, at UCLA, and taught in the PT program at Cal State Northridge. She was awarded a fellowship from the American Physical Therapy Association to pursue doctoral studies and received her Ph.D., in Psychology, from the University of Southern California. She conducted her research in educational psychology and in gerontology through the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, at USC. As a specialist in the field, she spent decades working with seniors at many esteemed institutions throughout Los Angeles including a long tenure as the Director of Rehabilitation at the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging. Karen was dedicated to serving people and her career as a Physical Therapist spanned over 60 years. She practiced physical therapy up until the age of 84 and helped people from all walks of life.
Her love of knowledge and education was outweighed only by her love for her children. She did everything in her power to bring education and the arts into the lives of her kids and always found a way for them to study anything they were interested in. From lessons in art, music, dance, magic, science, engineering … if her kids had a curiosity, she would find a way to help them quench it.
Karen loved to read and always had her nose in a book. She had an infectious sense of humor and loved to laugh. She truly enjoyed helping others and will be remembered for her generosity and kindness.
Karen is survived by her three children, Russell Jessum, Jeffrey Jessum, and Jennifer Jessum (Simon), her 2 grandchildren, several cousins, numerous nieces, nephews, grand and great grand nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents Rose Kaufman and Jacques Hecht, her sister Valerie Pierce, and her husband Richard Jessum.
Memorial Services will be held for her at 2pm on Thursday March 27th, 2025 at the Los Angeles Jewish Home, 7150 Tampa Ave, Reseda, CA 91335.
