Obituary of Sheldon Nathaniel Isaacs

ISAACS, SHELDON NATHANIEL, of Louisville, KY died on Thursday, May 12, 2016. He is survived by his second wife, Marcia Isaacs, sons, Darryl Isaacs (Teri) of Louisville, KY, Marc Isaacs (Anita) of Evansville, IN, Wayne Isaacs (Lin) of Union, KY, and Stephen Isaacs (Jean) of Lexington, KY, 14 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. Sheldon was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1931 and moved to Louisville when he was four. He attended Male High School where he graduated in 1949. He met his first wife, Betty Jean Marcus, at the YMHA in Louisville in 1951. Sheldon served as a medic in a MASH unit for two years in the Korean War before returning to the United States to marry Betty in 1953. He attended and graduated from the University of Kentucky School of Pharmacy and became a pharmacist, following in his father, Jacob’s, footsteps. Betty and Sheldon started a family in 1955 and moved to Frankfort, KY. Sheldon owned and operated Capital Drugs on Main Street for several years before eventually moving to Louisville in 1961. He purchased and operated Southway Drugs for many years on Dixie Highway, which was located across from the old Bishop David High School. He was a devoted husband and father and encouraged his children to further their education, participate in sports and become active in extracurricular activities. Sheldon had aspirations later in life to further his education and become a lawyer, and at the age of 38 with Betty and his four children’s support, he attended night school at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law. He graduated in 1972 and worked part-time as an attorney and as a pharmacist at Walgreens until he was able to sustain his law practice on a full-time basis. He soon realized that he was passionate about personal injury work and helping others. His pharmacy background was a great compliment to his law practice because of a working knowledge of pharmacology, how drugs interacted with the body, anatomy and how the body was affected by trauma and physiology. His law practice grew over the years and in 1991 his youngest son, Darryl, began clerking for him. Darryl later became a partner and Isaacs and Isaacs, P.S.C. was born. The firm has been a successful firm for many years helping thousands of clients. Sheldon was married to Betty for 52 glorious years before her passing in 2006. He married Marcia Bailen in 2008 and they loved spending time together. Sheldon was a true family man and helped coach some of his sons’ sports teams at the Jewish Community Center. He was an avid sports fan and enjoyed playing basketball and watching football, basketball and baseball. Sheldon had an enduring love of classical music and accumulated a broad collection of the classics. He was very personable, respectful of others, quick to tell a good joke and always willing to help others. Sheldon was a true promoter and supporter of his children and grandchildren and encouraged them to further their post-secondary education. He was proud of their accomplishments and in particular, that his children and adult grandchildren graduated from college and started their professional careers. Among them there are three lawyers, three CPAs, a certified financial planner, two doctors, four nurses, an engineer, a fourth generation pharmacist and a computer programmer. Three of his grandchildren are fourth generation graduates from the University of Louisville. Sheldon was very appreciative for the years of loyal support and assistance that he received from his long-time friend, Earl Wallace, and over the past few years from Nancy Noble and Stanley Ferman. Funeral services will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, May 16th at Herman Meyer & Son, 1338 Ellison Avenue, with burial in Adath Jeshurun Cemetery. Visitation will begin after 9:30 a.m. on Monday at the funeral home. Expressions of sympathy may be directed to Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, 1359 Broadway, Suite 1509 New York, NY 10018, American Cancer Society, 701 W Muhammad Ali Blvd, Louisville, KY 40203, or the Louisville Orchestra, 323 West Broadway, Suite 700, Louisville, KY  40202.