Uzi Yaari

Uzi Yaari passed away on December 18, 2022 at his home in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania surrounded by his family. He was 83 and died from Alzheimer’s disease.

Uzi was born in 1939 in the agricultural settlement Kibbutz Givat Haim in British Mandate Palestine to Hannah Nussia Roichman and Moshe Yaari.  His mother was a founder and leader of the kibbutz.  His father was a physician.  After service in the Israel Defense Forces, Uzi set out from the kibbutz to study economics and political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  Continuing what would be a lifelong pursuit of learning, Uzi then accepted a fellowship to a Ph.D. program at the University of Chicago.  There, he specialized in Corporate Finance and Public Policy, studying under Harold Demsetz, George Stigler, George Tolley, and Milton Friedman, earning his Ph.D. in 1972.  After a brief stint in commercial banking, Uzi returned to academia, where he spent the rest of his career of over thirty-five years devoted to research and teaching, Professionally, Uzi was known for his creativity and persistence in research, his writing skill, and his helpfulness to colleagues and dedicated students. 

Personally, Uzi was famous for his mischievous sense of humor, his passion for music, and his love of international travel. He especially enjoyed annual trips to Israel to visit with his two older daughters, family, and friends. Despite the distance of time and geography, Uzi’s connection to the kibbutz stayed with him all of his life.

Uzi is survived by his wife Evelyn Kauffman Yaari and his first wife Shoshana Zitrinovich Caplan (Ehud Bar); his children Hedva Yaari (Ronen Dangoor), Erga Yaari, Adam Yaari (Amanda), and Carmelle Yaari; his grandchildren Libbi, Hillel, and Yuval Dangoor, Uriah and Avner Weitzman, and Madeleine and Caroline Yaari.  He is also survived by his brothers Uri Yaari (Tossiah Soffer), Saul Yaari (Joyce), Aviram Gil (Tzvia), and sisters Maya Gendel (Avraham) and Anat Gross (David).  He will also be missed by many loving nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends.

A memorial gathering will take place in Israel at Kibbutz Givat Haim Meuchad in early 2023.  For those who wish to make a donation in Uzi’s memory, the family suggests the Education Program of the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. https://www.pcmsconcerts.org/