Jonathan Avirom

Jonathan Edward Avirom of New York City died peacefully on Election Day, Tuesday, November 7th, 2023 at the age of 85.

Born on October 6th, 1938 in New York City, Jon, his brother, and his mom grew up poor in Far Rockaway, Queens. He met his wife, Marcia, on Christmas Eve 1966 in Bloomingdales and it was love at first sight.

He attended the University of Virginia where he “never lost a party“ and then went on to earn a law degree from Brooklyn Law School.  He started out as a legal aid lawyer where he developed a passion for criminal law. He then went on to have a long and prestigious career as an immigration lawyer in New York City. He was president of AILA from 1978 - 1980 where he pitched many winning seasons of their softball team and more importantly, fought for fair U.S. immigration policies. He represented many professional hockey players, new immigrants to our country, and even the president of Liberia.

Jon loved to play and compete. He ran four New York marathons, the first at age 50. He was a lifelong NY Rangers fan, Virginia football fan, and “never lost” a game of horse to his son, Peter. He  dressed in UVA logo clothing every single day.

He was a true character and the life of any party.  He answered a lot of questions with “pretty, pretty, pretty good” and sometimes you felt like it was Larry David himself. He frequently played pranks and loved to tell jokes.  If you want to hear some of his material go to the video section. If you met our father, you know to listen on a personal computer, away from children and definitely not at work!  

Jon loved music and was often singing and dancing - 50’s, Latin  (preferably salsa) and the UW Wisconsin “jump around” were on the top of his list. 

He made friends easily and loved to travel.  Jon had a huge heart and was driven by a desire to help people.  He was an extremely emotional man who easily cried from sad commercials or upsetting situations in the news as he was emphatic to anyone or anything in pain. 

He is survived by his son, Peter, his daughter in law, Kristin, grandson Isaac; daughter, Cassie and her partner Ben; wife, Marcia; brother, Donald; best friend/dog Cooper;  and numerous other family members both blood and chosen. 

In lieu of flowers, please honor Jon by donating to the charities below (We'll add links on another page on the site).  You can also celebrate his memory by chatting up a stranger, petting a dog, ordering a mojito or eating a bowl of Talenti ice cream - salted caramel preferred. 

Children's Minnesota   - Jon loved his grandson Isaac (everyone's favorite Avirom) dearly and Children's Hospital  helped Isaac with his heart surgery. They serve many deserving kids.

AWARENYC - Jon was proud of his daughter for carrying on the family tradition of helping others. She co-leads this all-volunteer organization dedicated to promoting awareness and generating funds in order to make meaningful improvements in the lives of women and girls in the New York City community and worldwide.

https://wck.org/ - Celebrate Jon’s passion for helping others. WCK is first to the frontlines, providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises.