Obituary of Ted Margulis

Ted Margulis born on January 3, 1931 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ted enlisted in the US Navy during the Korean War. He graduated from the University of Minnesota. Ted picked his future wife out his younger brother Frank’s High School yearbook. He courted Shirley Smolkin for several years. Then in 1956, the two love birds married and moved to Los Angeles and were together for over 59 years until her death in 2015. Shirley was his guiding light and was always there to encourage him and always ready to give her opinion whether he asked for it or not. Ted was a man who had a number of visions and who fulfilled many of those visions with reality. He created “The Gift Exchange” concept and owned Adele’s Personalized Gifts. Adele’s was considered one of the finest gift shops in the Los Angeles area, if not the country. After retiring, Ted and Shirley moved to Palm Dessert where they lived happily more than 15 years. Ted’s loves were family, travel, history and computers. He put these all together and discovered a passion for genealogy. He became very well known on the internet for genealogy, he even created a website in his old age. His website helped people connect with their ancestors from all over the world. Ted and Shirley moved back to Los Angeles and began a new chapter in their life at the Los Angeles Jewish Home. Ted was just a big Teddy Bear, his sense of humor and generous spirit made him well respected in the community and everyone who met him loved him. Ted passed away suddenly and peacefully on September 20, 2020, from a broken heart. Ted had four children, Randi Margulis Grinbaum (Joe), Craig Margulis (Beth), Corey Margulis and Michael Sokol (Stacy); grandchildren Josh Sokol (Kayleen), Amy Erickson (Chris), Alyssa Mattingly (Aaron), Brianna Grinbaum, Jeffrey Grinbaum, Justin Margulis, Emma Margulis and Stella Margulis; and six great-grandchildren Olivia, Evan, Ellie, Audrey, Eli and Delilah. Survived by his brother Frank Margulis (Fran), his sister Gerri Herman and many nieces and nephews. Donations can be made to the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging in Reseda in honor of Ted Margulis and his legacy.