Michael Karchmer

Michael Karchmer was born December 28,1944 in Monterey, California to Monette and
Bernard Karchmer. He grew up in Corpus Christi, and his family were members at
Congregation Beth El.
Mike received a B.A. in Mathematics at the University of Texas in 1965 and was elected
to Phi Beta Kappa. He then earned an MBA at UT the next year and was elected to
Beta Gamma Sigma.
Mike’s first job was at IBM, where he worked for five years; he then became a
management consultant for Price Waterhouse until he went to work in the corporate
office of Oshman’s Sporting Goods, where he met his life-long mentor, Marvin
Aronowitz. Mike became a vice president of Oshman’s. While working at Oshman’s,
Mike attended law school at night at the University of Houston Law Center and
graduated in 1987 in the top 10% of his class. He was elected to the Order of the Coif,
an honor society for law school graduates.
After his graduation, he went to work for a national law firm for five years. In 1993,
Mike returned to the UH Law Center, where he had an opportunity to serve as the
Associate Dean for Administration. The last years of Mike’s business career were spent
at Merrill Lynch, where he became a certified financial planner, then at UBS Financial,
where many of his clients were attorneys.
Mike had a great interest in Jewish history and was a staunch supporter of Israel. He
also served on the local board of the American Jewish Committee.
Mike’s life changed dramatically in the fall of 1977 when he met Leda, the love of his
life, at an Oneg Shabbat at Emanu El. They were married two years later in the Emanu
El chapel. Mike knew that G-d smiled down on him by making Leda part of his life. He
was certain there was no better match for him in the world. Mike and Leda were
married for 43 years.
They were active in the West Houston Lodge of B’nai B’rith together, where they made
many good friends. Mike served as president of the Lodge twice and also served in
other Lodge board positions.
After his retirement, Mike was active as a mentor in SCORE (Senior Council of Retired
Executives) since 2014. Mike was grateful for his association with SCORE, where he
also he made many close friends.
Besides Leda, Mike is survived by his two brothers, Ronnie and Gordon and their
families, his daughter, Tiffany, and her husband and children, and his sister-in-law
Sandy Gabe.
Donations in Mike’s memory may be made to the Edward Wayne Hunger Fund or other
Fund of your choice at
EmanuElHouston.org.
LIVESTREAM LINK:
https://venues.vimeo.com/1688678323940?lang=en-US