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It has been difficult to find the right words to let our friends and clients know of the passing of our long-time partner, David Adelman.

For more than twenty years, David was the backbone of our transactional department, and the source of humor and humanity in our firm. He passed away after a truly valiant battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 64. He asked to keep his condition private because in doing so, he wanted to, and did, live every last possible day to the fullest, maximizing his time with family, friends, clients, colleagues, and fellow non-profit heroes without concerning others. 

We all know that David had a colorful life and career, working internationally in places like Puerto Rico, and absorbing himself into every dynamic industry of his clients. But we also know that David’s real passion was in his non-profit work. He was a past chairman of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association and chair of its business advocacy group’s not-for-profit committee. He was a board member of New Horizons, a North Hills nonprofit that works with developmentally disabled persons. David was also a board member of Valley Presbyterian Hospital where he found great solace and care during his illness. Due to his generous work and exemplary service, David was honored as a finalist in 2017 for the Fernando Award, the top honor given for volunteer work in the Valley.

Of course, David’s true loves were his wife, Cindy Rakowitz, and his daughters, who were, gratefully, with him when he passed. Cindy and David together founded Fit 4 the Cause, a Ventura-based nonprofit that provides fitness and nutrition education for underserved communities, many with special needs. With the unfortunate timing where his family cannot be physically surrounded by those who love them, any messages of support are helping them through the process and donations can be made in David’s name to www.fit4thecause.org.

A Celebration of Life will be arranged as soon as everyone can once again come together to properly acknowledge and thank this incredible man, and to be with his family, as he would want us to do. In the meantime, we will pass on any messages of support to his family, as our own G&B family grieves this truly irreplaceable loss. 

As Cindy reminds us: “His last wish was for all of us to remember his laughter and carry on his succession to make the world a better place.”