Walter Fierberg

Walter Fierberg, who was born in the Bronx, New York to David and Ruth (Pollack) Fierberg, passed away peacefully at his home in Manhattan Beach on January 31, 2025.

Walt moved with his parents and sister to the Los Angeles area in 1946. He attended Woodrow Wilson High School in City Terrace and then UCLA, where he majored in accounting. While in college, he was a member of the UCLA Marching Band, where he played the alto saxophone. He also was a member of Kappa Nu fraternity where he met many lifelong friends. Most importantly, he met his first wife, Helen (Wengel) there, who was a fellow UCLA student. Following his graduation from UCLA in 1957, he joined the accounting firm of Seidman and Seidman, where he earned his CPA license, serving in both the audit and tax departments. Walt became a tax preparation specialist, and he spent the rest of his career helping clients with tax strategies and compliance. He ultimately ran his own practice before retiring in 2000.

Walt and Helen married in 1956 and had two sons, Joel and Ira, who they raised at the home in Manhattan Beach that they purchased in 1965. The entire family was active at Temple Menorah in Redondo Beach, with Walt serving in various leadership roles, including as president of the synagogue in the late 1970’s.

Walt married his second wife Rhea (Bialick) in 1991 following Helen’s untimely passing a year earlier. They enjoyed traveling around the world and spending time with Rhea’s sister and brother-in-law, Donna and Chuck Hillman, in Palm Desert, where each family had a home.

Walt was an avid sports fan, and actively supported the Dodgers, the Raiders (while they were based in Los Angeles), and his beloved UCLA Bruins. Music and live theater were also a big part of his life, and his musical tastes ran from jazz to show tunes and standards. He always particularly enjoyed a good Stan Getz track.

Walt was predeceased by his parents, as well as by Helen and Rhea, and is survived by sons Joel (Karen) and Ira, by Andrea, Dena, and Mark Bialick, by his “baby sister” Doreen Kayne (Paul), and by loving cousins, nieces and nephews.

Walt’s family would like to acknowledge and thank his primary caregiver for the last two and a half years, Veronica Whitney, for her extraordinary compassion and efforts to give Walt the best possible quality of life.