Ira Sidney Kalb was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and died at age 72 at his home in Santa Monica. His father, Morris, died when Ira was a toddler, and he and his mother lived in Trenton until Ira was a young teen, when they moved to Santa Monica to be closer to family. His mother died just a few years later, and Ira, who was still in high school, moved in with the Rosenberg family—his sister Helen, brother-in-law Milton, and their three children.

A rocky start didn’t prevent Ira from becoming a highly accomplished individual. He graduated cum laude with a BS in Bio-Engineering Systems from UCLA in 1970, staying on to earn an MBA in 1972. After graduate school, Ira served as president of Compal Computer Systems and went on to found Kalb & Associates, K&A Press, and Out-of-this-World Marketing. As a marketing expert, Ira wrote several books, published numerous articles, appeared on various TV and radio news programs, and invented many original marketing and business concepts. In addition, Ira was an accomplished musician, playing the saxophone and other woodwind instruments semi-professionally as a young man.

Ira was also a gifted teacher, teaching courses over the years in marketing, international management, business systems, and sales for universities, corporations, and organizations around the world. He took a special interest in Finland, where he first visited in 1995, teaching marketing and advertising courses at the Helsinki School of Economics and Business and conducting marketing seminars for business executives throughout the country. For his efforts, in 2016 he received the insignia of Knight, First Class, of the Order of the Lion of Finland, the highest honor given to a non-Finnish citizen.

An achievement of which Ira seemed especially proud was becoming a professor of marketing at USC in 2006. In talking to Ira about his work at the university, it was obvious that he cared deeply about his students and his role in educating the next generation of marketing professionals. His students showed their appreciation by honoring him with the Golden Apple Teaching Award four times. Ira taught at USC until May of this year, when the inoperable cancer that had been diagnosed in 2017 forced him to resign.

But Ira will be remembered for more than just his accomplishments. When he joined the Rosenberg household after the passing of his mother, Ira’s status as uncle to Rita, Marla, and Jay morphed into that of older brother, and though he never had children of his own, he took pleasure in his role as great uncle—emphasis on the great—to Sam, David, Lily, Eric, Nathan, and Koby and great-great uncle to Millie, Mila, and Trudy. His loss will be felt by family, friends, colleagues, and students alike. Rest in peace, Uncle I.