Dear Friends and Family,
With great sadness, we would like to announce the death of our beloved husband and father, Kal (Alan Kalmanoff). He courageously battled stage four lung cancer for almost three years, after thriving for over thirteen years with a heart transplant. He was lively, joyful, and fully present, right up until he passed. An hour prior, he let us know he was in no pain at all and passed away peacefully in his sleep surrounded by the three of us.
Kal had a big personality, a huge heart, and was intensely close with an array of people from his many walks of life. For the last few months, he had been eagerly planning a large birthday/farewell party where he intended to say goodbye to each of you individually. Since he isn’t here to enjoy his big party, we are planning a smaller celebration of his life at our home for close friends and family. Please stop by and share the day with us if it would be meaningful for you to do so.
If you are unable to make the celebration, we have created this website to gather memories of his life. It would mean a lot to us if you would contribute your favorite Kal stories and photos either in person or online. If you think of others that should know of Kal’s passing and may want to attend his celebration of life, please feel free to share this site as we may have missed some in his contact list.
With love and gratitude,
Candice, Triana, and Annalise
PS - For those interested in the film played during his celebration of life, here is the link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10Mn642XzBNdDowyN3M4oJ3nLjuN8RBK9
Dr. Alan "Kal" Kalmanoff, national consultant in law enforcement and criminal justice, leader in the Disability Rights Movement, and loving husband and father died on August 1, 2019 at his home in Berkeley, California. He was 76 years old.
Kal was born on September 28, 1942 in New York to Irving and Emy Kalmanoff. When he was 14, he ran away from home and ended up in France. After returning to the States, obtaining his GED, and playing football to pay his way through college, Kal moved to Berkeley in 1964 to attend law school, beginning his lifelong relationship with the University of California, Berkeley, where he would receive a JD, an MSW, a PhD in Social Policy Planning, and return as a professor for the School of Law and five other departments for over 30 years.
In 1979, Kal founded the Institute for Law and Policy Planning (ILPP), directing over 400 police, prison, jail, and health care-related criminal justice system studies for counties, states, and federal agencies. He served as the Federal Master over system-wide mental health changes mandated by the Federal Courts over California's prisons. Kal was a nationally recognized policing consultant, and a leader in criminal justice system, police training and facility planning best practices. His invaluable work opposed jail-building, and developed alternatives to incarceration, facilitated public involvement, and drove meaningful criminal justice reform.
Kal was deeply committed to the Disability Rights Movement, especially during its formative years leading to enactment of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). He was closely aligned with Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), serving on its Board of Directors and training the organization's lead activists to be effective trainers themselves. In this important role, Kal helped young advocates become dynamic public speakers, teachers, and facilitators. The preparation enabled them to better train thousands of disabled people around the country in the strategic and effective use of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the nation's first disability civil rights law. Later, he served on the Board of Directors of Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), a disability rights legal organization. Throughout his life, Kal maintained that his role in the Disability Rights Movement exceeded his work in criminal justice because it, "changed people's lives," and led to new policy and laws that banned disability-based discrimination nationwide.
Although professionally Kal was known for his contributions to social change, he was known personally for his larger-than-life personality, his outrageous sense of humor, and an unmatched zest for living. His book Second Ticket to the Dance, recounts his experience on the "edge of life," imbued with his honest, witty, and philosophical perspective.
After thriving for over thirteen years with a heart transplant, Kal courageously battled stage four lung cancer for nearly three years. He was lively, joyful, and fully present until peacefully passing in his sleep, surrounded and supported by his family. He is survived by his wife of 28 years, Dr. Candice Wong, and his daughters, Triana and Annalise.
Published on NYTimes.com from Aug. 20 to Aug. 21, 2019
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