Obituary of Lester Joseph Traband

Lester Joseph Traband, 70, of Woodbury, NJ, afinancial planner, insurance broker, author, wine aficionado and civic activist, died at home Saturday, Jan. 12. Born in Pitman, he served with theAir Force inGermany. He founded the insurance firm Traband Associates, in Woodbury, in 1960. He was a full-timeagent with the Guardian Life Insurance Company. He was a former memberof the Rotary Club of Washington Township, and ofthe Philadelphia chapter of the Confrrie de la Chane desRtisseurs gastronomic society. In the 1970's he wrote a wine column forWoodbury Daily Times.He was a former board member of the Mullica Hill Friends School, and formerly served on the vestry of the Church of the Good Shepherd, in Pitman. Mr. Traband was the author of "Obtaining Your Financial Black Belt: Power and Control OverMoney" (Infinity Publishing, 2000).He was a longtime volunteer fundraiser for his church, his childrens schools andthe Hunger Project, a global strategic organization committed to ending hunger on a sustainable basis through self-sufficiency. From 1978 through 2000, he and the people he trained raised more than$2 millionfor the Hunger Project. He also raised several hundred thousand dollars for the Pachamama Alliance, dedicated to preserving tropical rainforests by empowering the indigenous people who are its natural custodians. From 2001 to 2004 he served as president ofthe Foundation for Community Leadership,which gives fellowships to community leaders.In 2006, Mr. Traband founded the Sufficiency Foundation, which fundsorganizations dedicated to "a world that works for everyone with no one and nothing left out." Survivors:wife, Lee Sherman Weinstein Traband;daughter, Lili Anna Traband; son, Rhett Michael Traband; brother, Richard Traband; stepsons, Paul Weinstein, Bruce Weinstein, Ivan Weinstein; stepdaughter,Lila Jones; 10 grandchildren; and his first wife, Eleonore Anna Klos Traband. Anotherbrother, Gary Traband, died in 1995. Les is also survived by his three biological grandchildren: Lili's daughter, Elsa Marina Ayala and Rhett's two sons, Logan Paul Traband and Michael Dane Traband. They knew him as a storyteller, gardener, singer, crazy man, navigator, visionary, fun-maker, world traveler, planet steward, friend, and called him Pop-Pop. A memorial service will be held at 3PM Sunday, Jan. 20, at the KELLEY FUNERAL HOME, 125 Pitman Ave., Pitman, NJ, where friends may call after 1 PM. Another memorial service will take place in the spring. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to any of the following organizations:The Hunger Project (www.thp.org);The Pachamama Alliance (www.pachamama.org);The Sufficiency Foundation, 229 Holroyd Place, Woodbury, NJ 08096. Memorials may be shared at www.kelleyfhpitman.com.