George Epstein, an avid poker player and reader of the Beverly Press, died on March 29 after battling a heart condition. (photo courtesy of Sue Epstein)

Many people in the community are mourning the death of George Epstein, a longtime Fairfax District resident and well known as a columnist in poker and gaming publications.

Epstein died at the age of 95 on March 29. His health had been declining due to a heart condition, and he had been in the hospital and hospice care since January, his daughter, Sue Epstein, said. On April 5, the Los Angeles City Council adjourned in Epstein’s memory at the request of Councilman Paul Koretz, 5th District.

“In the city of Angels, George certainly earned his wings, here on Earth and beyond,” Koretz said. “On March 29, at the age of 95, he passed away. George was a loving, kind and absolutely brilliant man who cared so much about his family and the city that he lived in. George read a stack of newspapers every morning and regularly submitted letters to the editor to local publications and the L.A. Times. In fact, the Beverly Press almost always had a letter from him in their weekly publication, which I always looked for. It is my honor and privilege to adjourn in the wonderful memory of a great and brilliant man and friend, George Epstein.”

Approximately 100 people attended funeral services for Epstein on April 1 at Hillside Memorial Park, Sue Epstein said. She remembered her father as a caring family man, a pioneer in the aerospace industry and an enthusiastic poker player, but most of all, she stressed that he was a humanitarian and a “thinker.”

“He was always thinking of ways to help people, to make the world better,” Sue Epstein said. “Dad never wasted time, and he always said to make sure you appreciate those around you, and to make a contribution to the world around you. He appreciated the people in his life and always had something to say to everyone.”

Epstein was born in Boston and attended Boston Latin School, University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied chemistry. He served on a submarine mine sweeper in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Epstein married his wife, Irene, in 1951 and the following year moved to Los Angeles, where the couple enjoyed a 45-year marriage. Sue Epstein said they first lived in a duplex near Fairfax Avenue and Venice Boulevard, and later on Orange Drive near Beverly Boulevard. In the 1980s, George Epstein purchased the family’s current residence on Detroit Street.

Epstein worked as an aerospace engineer specializing in adhesives and composites, which are materials and structures used in rockets and spacecraft. He initially worked for North American Aviation and created groundbreaking adhesives to hold parts on aircraft fuselages and rockets together. He later worked for Aero-Jet General, Ford Aerospace and the Aerospace Corporation, from which he retired in 1991 at the age of 65. Sue Epstein said her father remained active in the aerospace industry as a consultant for years after retirement, and also worked closely with the Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering North America, a professional organization that he was involved with for decades. In a statement, SAMPE North America CEO Zane Clark called him “a giant in the composites industry.”

“The story of SAMPE would not have been written without Mr. Epstein and cannot be told without sharing his legacy,” Clark said. “Mr. Epstein’s passing is a great loss to the SAMPE community and the industry he so loyally served.”

Epstein’s wife died in 1996, and as way of giving back, SAMPE established the Irene Epstein Memorial Scholarship fund for Fairfax High School students planning to pursue careers in the science, engineering and medical fields. A few years ago, the scholarships were expanded to students at the Girls Academic Leadership Academy, located on the campus of Los Angeles High School.

“[The scholarships were] SAMPE’s idea, because my mother would always volunteer at all of their events,” Sue Epstein said. “My brother and I went to Fairfax High School, so that’s why they selected it to go to students there. Now, [scholarships] are given to students at GALA too.”

After his retirement, Epstein started his “second career” in poker, which he played almost daily. He originally knew little about the game and learned by reading books, playing and taking copious notes, Sue Epstein said.

“He and my mom used to go to Las Vegas a lot together,” she added. “He studied [poker] and it was a hobby, but when my mom passed away, he was devastated and needed something to ease his mind. If you looked at his book shelf, you wouldn’t believe it. Every book on poker you can imagine, he had it, and file drawers full of poker articles.”

Epstein organized a senior poker group that still plays at the Claude Pepper Senior Center on La Cienega Boulevard, and was a regular at the Hustler Casino and Normandie Club.

Epstein wrote columns on poker for the gaming publications Cardplayer Lifestyle and Gaming Today. He used the name George “The Engineer” Epstein, in tribute to his career as an aerospace engineer. He was also author of three books on poker.

Sue Epstein said her father would want people to remember him as a caring person who strived to make the world better for everyone. In his memory, she hopes people consider ways to help others.

“He was a giver,” she added. “He was a very thoughtful man. He was always thinking about ways to improve the world and everyone around him.”

Epstein is survived by his daughter and his two granddaughters, Dani and Esther. Sue Epstein asked that in lieu of flowers, people wishing to honor her father make donations to SAMPE. Donations can be sent to the Irene Epstein Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o SAMPE Los Angeles Chapter, Dr. Clement Hiel, 767 Channel St., San Pedro, CA 90731.