Irving Fredrick Lefberg died on August 8, 2022. He was born on March 6, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York. He was married to Cheryl Adams for 30 years and she preceded him in death. He leaves behind two stepsons, Mark and Greg Gendron, and three grandchildren. In recent years, Irv lived at the Stellar Care Assisted Living Facility in San Diego, California.
Irv got his undergraduate degree from City College of New York and his Ph.D. in political economy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977. That was followed by a one-year fellowship at Harvard University. Irv taught at the University of Washington and later served as senior economist, forecaster, and policy analyst for five governors at the Washington State Budget Office. In 2010, Irv and Cheryl moved to Escondido, California where he pursued has passion in photography.
Irv loved taking pictures of animals, and especially birds. He self-published a book called “Birds of the Spirit” which had a great image of a peacock on the cover. He would often go out on photo trips and frequently to the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park. He displayed his images at the Municipal Gallery in Escondido, as well as Gallery 21 in Balboa Park in San Diego, Calumet Photographic, and the Gotthelf Gallery in La Jolla.
Irv was an avid baseball fan. He followed the Brooklyn Dodgers until they moved to Los Angeles. One spring he attended a spring training session and got the chance to shoot images of Ken Griffey, Jr., and others. He was also able to shoot inside Petco Park, where the Padres play, when professional cameras were still allowed by the public.
Irv was a quiet, unassuming man. He is sorely missed.