In Passing

Westwood, N.J.

Arthur Hertzberg, Jewish leader

Arthur Hertzberg, a rabbinical scholar who was a major and spirited voice of modern Judaism in America, has died. He was 84.

Hertzberg died Monday of complications related to heart failure while en route to Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood, N.J.

As president of the American Jewish Congress from 1972 to 1978 and vice president of the World Jewish Congress from 1975 to 1991, Hertzberg was at the center of efforts to protect the civil rights of Jews. He wrote a dozen books on Jewish thought and history, several of which became touchstones of Zionism.

When Hertzberg confronted the problems of race relations in his first rabbinical post in Nashville, Tenn., in 1947, he became an early advocate for civil rights for blacks. His commitment is credited with paving the way for Jewish involvement in the civil rights movement.

Los Angeles

Eberhardt Rechtin, aerospace engineer

Eberhardt Rechtin, who played a key role in the development of space technology during the Cold War, died Friday at Torrance Memorial Hospital after lengthy battles with several illnesses. He was 80.

Rechtin, of Rolling Hills Estates, was chief executive of Aerospace Corp. for 10 years, chief engineer of Hewlett-Packard Corp. and director of the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, among other positions that placed him at the forefront of U.S. national security. He later joined the faculty at the University of Southern California, creating the school’s first program in aerospace architecture.

Rechtin’s most important single technical accomplishment was his role in creating the Deep Space Network, a system developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory that captures communications from distant planetary spacecraft.

Rochester, N.Y.

Robert Wegman, grocery executive

Robert Wegman, a pioneer of one-stop shopping who transformed his family’s business into one of the nation’s largest private companies, died Thursday. He was 87.

Wegman, chairman of Wegmans Food Markets, died at Strong Memorial Hospital, where he was admitted after his health deteriorated in recent days. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Wegman took over as president of the 90-year-old business begun by his father and uncle in 1950 and over decades introduced private-label products and laser scanning at the checkout.

He is credited with pioneering one-stop shopping, placing bakeries, imported foods and cafes into huge stores, along with photo labs, video departments and child play centers.

Johannesburg

Ellen Kuzwayo, S. African writer

South African author, women’s rights and anti-apartheid champion Ellen Kuzwayo died early Wednesday after a long illness, family said. She was 91.

Kuzwayo was the first black writer to win South Africa’s premier CNA Literary Prize for her 1985 autobiography, “Call Me Woman,” a book that made her a spokeswoman for the suffering and triumphs of black women under apartheid.

In 1996, she published a collection of short stories, “Sit Down and Listen: Stories From South Africa.” She also collaborated on films.

Kuzwayo was elected to Parliament in South Africa’s first all-race elections in 1994, serving five years. She was also active in projects to educate women and improve living conditions in Soweto, becoming an institution in the township, where her advice was sought by schools, church groups, welfare agencies and many others.