Woody Epstein passed away of a sudden stroke on February 5th, 2019.
Born Steven Alan Epstein in Cleveland Ohio, January 7, 1948, he was known by many names to many people. While he was Stevie to his family and Kommander Kitchen to the denizens of Uncle House, many more people knew him as Woody. So named when he moved to Southern California in the early 1980s, Woody was never rich with money but always with skills and talent and the people around him.
In the 1970s he went to Israel to re-found a Kibbutz, and worked as the rosh ha musach and ran the cotton harvest. After returning to the United States, he attended Case Western Reserve University and received degrees in philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. Since 1984, Woody worked in the nuclear power industry, specializing in risk and safety.
None of that adequately describes the man. Woody was a genius, he was a unique individual who loved the absurd and the complex. He listened to the radio and voraciously devoured books of all kinds. Woody loved life, all it had to provide, and he lived his life to the fullest. Taking to heart his mothers joie de vivre, he gave what he had and shared everything. He loved wine, women, and song. He loved long cups of coffee and copious cigarettes while making philosophy.
Woody’s children, wife, and friends and family will do their best to remember him as a man who cooked well and said “Fuck authority.”
