Jane Zorek

Warren Zorek addressing a Red Cross Group.

Today, Eliot and I attended the funeral of 81-year old Jane Zorek. She was a descendant of the Bloomingdale’s family and wife of a very close friend of mine, Warren Zorek, the long time consumer electronics buyer at Bloomingdale’s. You may not remember, but Bloomingdale’s sold CE products for many years.

Warren died almost seven years ago at, coincidentally, the same age as his beloved, 81. Warren and I were very close for decades. We met when I was in my 20s reporting on electronics and appliances for a trade publication called Home Furnishings Daily. I don’t remember how we met. I must have called him for some information and we met at his office.

What I didn’t know at the time was that most of the manufacturer sales reps in the business feared him. He was one of the most powerful buyers (if he bought your goods, you had it made for the year) and also one of the toughest. Rumor had it that reps would pop Valium or take a drink before their presentations. By the time he got finished quizzing them, they were drenched.

He was a pussycat to me. He was also a pussycat to anyone I asked him to see. My cousin Marilyn went to work for another good friend of mine, Ed Stravitz, the JVC rep. When I asked Warren to grant Marilyn an audience, he was as gracious as gracious could be. They became good friends too.

I went to many industry events and walked around CES with Warren. Being with him gave me an upgraded cachet. Warren was also very involved in the Red Cross, and his office was decorated with Red Cross clothes and rescue/emergency equipment, whatever tools he needed to respond immediately to natural disasters. Everyone knew that if there was some sort of an event anywhere in the country, Warren was there as a high ranking volunteer. In the early days, Jane went with him. He was constantly in the news disseminating information about what happened and who had survived. He also organized Blood Drives and was one of several people featured in a book about the most devoted Red Cross volunteers.

Our lives with Jane and Warren were intertwined. One of the reasons Whitney went to Hebrew School at the legendary Temple Emanu-El was because Jane’s grandfather was a founding member. Both Jane and Warren devoted many hours a week to fundraisers and clubs. They also were the ones who got us into the very famous Harmonie Club, a private establishment, for Whitney’s Bas Mitzvah reception. The family ties extended even further. Their son Michael, an actor, worked at HWH for many years and their daughter Jennifer babysat for Whitney when we went out at night. They both have families of their own now.

Why am I telling you all this? At age 65, I feel very sad that there are chapters of my life that are gone forever. While I was listening to the Temple Emanu-El Rabbi speak about Jane and all those who loved her, I started to reminisce about the deep relationships I have had over the years and how many of the industry men who became personal friends have died or moved far away. These were my buddies, my connections, my roots to a life that was much simpler then.

None of these guys had any notion of the Internet and all the innovation that has come along with it. In the early days, they were the ones who introduced quad sound or fought the VHS versus Betamax battle. It hurts me that the kids in the business today have no idea who these people were and couldn’t care less. While my everyday life is all about change and evolution, I can’t help but see my old friends around me like the faces in a cloud of a Woody Allen movie.

Jane died on Mother’s Day. She wanted to make sure no one would forget her. We never could!