While searching the New York Times for the obituary of a friend of my aunt's, I stumbled upon the obituary of someone else: Victor Rabinowitz.

Victor Rabinowitz was my friend Joni's father. Joni is an Antiochian from the 60s, and was the recipient of the 2002 Horace Mann Award. For those non-Antiochians out there, the Horace Mann Award is given to individuals who have "won some victory for humanity." No small order.

Her father, Victor Rabinowitz, was a lawyer who defended Castro and Alger Hiss. His autobiography has Scott Sanders' all-time favorite title for a memoir: Unrepentant Leftist.

I never met Victor Rabinowitz, but I'm very fond of his daughter Joni, and I didn't want his death to pass unnoticed.