Ira Philip Weinstein, Ph.D, passed away peacefully in Santa Barbara on Saturday, May 13, 2023.
Ira was born in Brooklyn, New York (go Dodgers!) on Sept. 21, 1939, to Esther (Horowitz) and Sam Weinstein.
Esther was a loving matriarch who passed her incredible fashion sense down to Ira. From Sam, Ira inherited a charisma that provided him with an exceptional ability to connect with all people, ultimately inspiring him to pursue a career in psychology and understanding the human brain.
When his parents brought baby Ira home to their Crown Heights apartment, an unbreakable bond was formed between him and his three-year-old sister, Rhoda, who remains a devoted and loving older sibling.
After graduating from Erasmus Hall High School in 1957, Ira attended CCNY, Baruch School of Business to study accounting. Esther and Sam wanted an accountant in the family, but when Ira took a psychology class, his parents’ dreams were dashed.
His mother should have known he could never reach his true fashion potential as an accountant. With that, Ira officially changed his major and eventually began working toward his Ph.D. in industrial psychology at the University of Pittsburgh.
While studying on a Sunday in Pittsburgh, Ira sought solitude in his office at the university. That solitude was short-lived when Ira heard a huge commotion in the lab down the hallway where Jonas Salk was doing ongoing polio research.
Ira walked out and peeked in the window of the lab’s door, only to see a group of monkeys trotting around like they owned the place. It turned out one of the monkeys from Salk’s polio research had not only gotten out of its cage, but it also opened all the other monkey cages.
The ruckus Ira was hearing was the sound of a full-blown lab monkey hoedown. It was a great example of how human and animal behavior, emotion and problem-solving can delay the most rigid scientific research.
At this point, Ira realized he wanted to pursue clinical psychology instead of industrial psychology, and a year later he transferred to Michigan State University; he already owned plenty of winter-wear.
After earning his Ph.D. at Michigan State in 1966, Ira finally headed south for a change of scenery and a new color palette. When he was hired as a professor of psychology at University of Tennessee, Knoxville (go Big Orange!), Ira already knew how to look great in bright colors, thanks to his fashionista mother.
In addition to teaching in Knoxville, Ira trained students at the university’s mental health clinic and he had a part-time private practice.
Ira’s proudest accomplishment in Knoxville was the birth of his son Matthew.
His second proudest accomplishment in Knoxville was the community mental health program he developed, in which he trained peer counselors to work with underserved populations. This program also caught the attention of the dean of Student Affairs at UCSB. He was searching for a new Counseling Center director while Santa Barbara was recovering from the anti-war demonstrations that resulted in the burning of the Bank of America building.
Ira was invited to interview for the job, and, while he would never admit it, he was surely already planning his new, 1970’s Southern California style before he stepped off the plane.
He was most excited about the prospect of being able to create a peer counseling program on a large scale at UCSB, but he was also looking forward to living somewhere that did not require a separate summer and winter wardrobe.
Looking sharp, Ira walked through Isla Vista on his way to be interviewed at UCSB, but the civil unrest was still fresh in our local college town and Ira got caught up in a cloud of tear gas. Somehow, he still made it to his interview, and he was hired – but he always warned his son and daughter to avoid tear gas, especially before job interviews.
While working as the Counseling Center director, Ira also taught abnormal psychology and acted as temporary vice president of Student Affairs for a year. Fashion-wise, this was the height of Ira’s long-haired look. He occasionally wore a leather headband (he let his daughter borrow it for a hippie costume in the ’90s); and his long hair framed his perfect horseshoe mustache.
During his eight years at UCSB, Ira married his wife Lotte, had a baby girl, Erika, and successfully navigated another fashion revolution. At this point, he missed doing his clinical work and wanted to spend more time with his family, so he decided to go into private practice full time.
For the next 40 years, Ira thrived professionally. His life’s work was to help his patients with their problem solving and living the best version of their lives to the fullest, and this was how he left an indelible mark on all their lives.
His great skill as a therapist was to untangle human problems; he was especially adept at couples counseling, as well as teaching people to reparent themselves if their problems stemmed from difficult or abusive childhoods.
He was considered a guardian angel to many, and his kindness, wisdom, and compassionate support lifted the spirits of everyone he encountered.
During this time, he served on the Board of Directors for CALM. Ira was extraordinarily passionate and committed to fighting against the sexual abuse of children. His work for the agency and its staff gave him an immense sense of satisfaction.
Fashion-wise, this was the era when Ira started shaving his beard into a goatee, and he transitioned into wearing more hats, sweaters and flashy eyeglasses – and the kids stopped buying him ties for Father’s Day.
Ira served as a board member for Temple B’nai B’rith for eight years. Despite looking dapper in a yarmulke, Ira did not consider himself a religious Jew, but he felt very strongly about being Jewish culturally.
Supporting the temple for its work in the local community allowed Ira to continue his mental health philanthropy well beyond his retirement. Ira was considered a bright light within the temple community, and he symbolized a life well lived.
Ira used to lend his deep, booming voice to prayer readings at temple services. He even participated in story time at the temple. Thanks to Ira’s voice, there is most likely a generation of children at B’nai B’rith who believe the real “Voldemort” from “Harry Potter” performed in their Purim play.
This was also a time when you could find him with his head shaved, wearing a Kangol hat, leather jacket, and sleek eyeglasses.
As Ira’s schedule allowed for more playtime, he became an avid lawn bowler at McKenzie Park. He forged warm friendships with all his lawn bowling buddies, and he was serious about his training.
His love for poker was reignited, and he scheduled his life around his Friday and Sunday poker games.
Ira’s various passions allowed him to approach his career, life, fashion, marriage and fatherhood with a sense of humor. He loved being a father and grandfather, and he absolutely adored his grandsons.
The true love of Ira’s life was his wife Lotte; he always said that marrying her was the best decision he ever made. They were also a perfect musical match since her singing nourished his soul and she let him believe he sounded just like Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan.
Ira is survived by his beloved wife of 50 years, Lotte Weinstein; son Matthew Wolf (Tania Thiele) and daughter Erika Weinstein (Jed Weinstein); grandsons Jake and Wyatt Wolf; sister Rhoda Korman; nephew Scott Korman and niece Stacey Vargas (Luis Vargas).
He is also survived by his dear, devoted friends at Maravilla who will miss seeing him in his wild shirts and hats — he was a fashion animal until the very end.
The Weinstein Family is grateful to honor the UCLA hospitalists at Cottage Hospital, Dr. Stephen Vampola, Dr. Amanda Scott, Dr. Michael Bordofsky, Valle Verde Health Center’s Nurse’s Station No. 3, and VNA Hospice Care.
A Celebration of Ira’s Life will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept 10 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 909 N. La Cumbre Road.
Optional attire: wear a fun, colorful shirt to honor Ira.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate in Dr. Ira P. Weinstein’s name to: CALM Santa Barbara, 1236 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101.