Bess Kaplan

Bess Kaplan was born in 1942 in Cleveland, Ohio to Belle and Philip Horwitz. She graduated from Shaker Heights high school and then Ohio State, where she met her beloved husband Richard Kaplan, whom she married in 1964 and shared a lifetime of partnership, love, and adventure.

Bess was a lifelong learner and a voracious reader with an insatiable curiosity about the world. She was an avid traveler, biker, runner, and devoted yoga practitioner. An early second-wave feminist, she wrote her master’s thesis on anarchist and activist Emma Goldman, embodying throughout her life a spirit of independence and conviction.

Above all, Bess cherished time with her family and friends. She maintained close bonds with friends from her youth while continuing to welcome new connections throughout her life.

She is survived by her beloved husband, Richard Kaplan; her devoted children, Roberta “Robbie” and Peter; her daughter-in-law Rachel; her adored grandson Jacob; and her cherished brother, Benjamin Horwitz. She was deeply loved and will be profoundly missed by all who knew her.

Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 3, 2025 at The Park Synagogue 27500 Shaker Blvd. Cleveland, OH 44124, with interment to follow at Bet Olam Cemetery.

Shiva will be observed on August 3 from 2:30–5:00 p.m. and 6:00–8:00 p.m. at the party room of Building 3 at Four Seasons, 26600 George Zeiger Drive, Beachwood. Shiva will continue on Monday, August 4, from 2:00–4:00 p.m. and 6:00–8:00 p.m. at 5460 Muirfield Drive, Pepper Pike.

Donations in her memory can be made to Planned Parenthood, Seeds of Literacy, or the United States Holocaust Museum.

Arrangements by Berkowitz-Kumin-Bookatz Memorial Chapel.