Obituaries

Arlynn Beverly Siegel passed away peacefully surrounded by family in Newton, MA at age 81 on Friday, June 19, 2020.  She was born in Lynn, MA on March 9, 1939.Above all, family was at the core of Arlynn’s life. She was the loving wife of Jack Siegel, sister of Muriel Bean and Sharon Burke, mother of Adam Gurwitz and Marc Siegel, beloved mother-in-law of Maria Elena Cruz Lopez and doting grandmother of Raquel and Daniela Siegel.Arlynn was an active member of Temple Reyim of Newton, serving in a variety of roles through the years. She spent many years managing a busy medical practice and loved volunteering with young children at the Horace Mann Elementary School.A private graveside service will be held at the New Tifereth Israel (Everett) Cemetery. Shiva will be observed outdoors, in a socially distanced environment, from Tuesday, June 23 through Monday, June 29, excluding Shabbat, between the hours of 930am to 1230pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Temple Reyim, 1860 Washington Street, Newton, MA 02466.

Nelson H. Goldin of Framingham, MA passed away in Tamarac, FL on Monday, June 15, 2020 after a long battle with kidney disease.

Nelson was born on July 29, 1945 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was pre-deceased by his parents, George and Ruth (Goldstein) Goldin.

Nelson was a veteran of the U.S Army, and served in Germany during the Vietnam War as a medic. After returning home to Massachusetts, he was a long-time business owner in Framingham where he owned Waverly Auto Parts. Nelson was always committed to serving his community and helping others. He served as a police officer in Hopkinton, a member of the Keefe Tech School Committee, and the Framingham Board of Health. He was on the Board of Directors for Cold Spring Resort in Ashland, NH for over thirty years, including serving as President. In later years, he found his true calling as a Constable and Justice of the Peace.  One of his greatest joys was performing weddings, baby namings, and other major life events for friends, family, and strangers who became his friends. He officiated the weddings for each of  his children. Family was the most important thing in Nelson’s life.

In recent years, Nelson and Margie spent winters in Florida where they were able to take cruises, relax, and continue to enjoy family both in Florida and Massachusetts.

Beloved husband to Marjorie (Shuster) Goldin of Framingham, MA. Loving father to Rachel (Goldin) Adams (husband Berry) and Naomi Goldin of Whitinsville, MA, Rebekah (Freeman) Schulze (husband Louis) of Weston, FL, and Seth Freeman (wife Stephanie) of Upton, MA. Proud Zaydie (grandfather) to Madison and Hannah Minutolo, Annie and Teddy Schulze, and Zoe and Zachary Freeman. He is also survived by his sister, Phyllis (Goldin) Swartz of Bellingham, MA and his nieces Elaine, Michelle, and Stephanie.

Nelson touched the lives of many people, and he will be very missed. A private graveside service will be held.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances can be made in Nelson’s name to Buddy Dog Humane Society, 151 Boston Post Rd., Sudbury, MA 01776 or Temple Israel of Natick, 145 Hartford St., Natick, MA 01760.

Cemach, Henry of Natick, MA formerly of Jamaica Plain passed away on June 16, 2020. Beloved husband of Sylvia (Lippman) Cemach. Devoted father of Gary Cemach, Richard Cemach, Karen Ferraro and her husband Richard, and Janet Cemach. Proud grandfather of Michael Cemach, and Jamie, Nikki, and Jake Ferraro. Henry graduated from Mass College of Pharmacy. He was an avid sports fan, who especially loved the NY Giants and horse racing. He loved to travel, but most of all spending time with his family. Funeral services are private. In lieu of flowers, donations in Henry’s memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, MA Chapter, 309 Waverly Oaks Rd., Waltham, MA 02452.

David Apotheker-Of Mashpee,June 9, 2020.Graveside services were held privately on June 15th.

Julian Daly, of Weston, MA, passed away at age 90 on June 13, 2020 at his home with his wife by his side.

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Julian earned his college degree from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Harvard Law School. He worked for the SEC in Washington, D.C., before moving to the Boston area where he spent most of his career working as in-house counsel for a financial corporation. One of his proudest achievements in his professional career was overcoming a stutter he’d struggled with as a child and young adult to become a proficient and dynamic public speaker.

Julian enjoyed many hobbies throughout his life, including art, photography, tennis, cross-country skiing, and sailing. But he may be remembered most for his extraordinary culinary talents. Nothing made Julian happier than sitting with family and sharing one of his home-made meals accompanied with wine, classical music, and animated conversation.

Julian is survived by his loving wife, Elizabeth; daughter Victoria, and her husband, Alan Schneiderman; daughter Joanna, and her husband, Jay Fitzgerald; as well as three grandsons, Samuel, Benjamin, and Zeb Fitzgerald.

Julian was laid to rest at Linwood Cemetery in Weston. Funeral arrangements were private due to Covid-19.

October 21, 1927 – June 15, 2020

It was love at first sight.

From the moment her flight touched ground and taxied to the terminal zone at Israel’s Lod Airport on a January morning in 1962, Barbara Checkoway could see, feel and hear the Promised Land calling. And it would beckon her and her beloved husband Norman, of blessed memory, to return again and again over the next half-century.

Barbara, who was born in Lowell, Massachusetts on October 21, 1927, passed peacefully in the early morning of June 15, 2020. Reared by her parents, Harry and Rose (Shore) Snider in Haverhill, Massachusetts along with sisters Selma and Marcia, Barbara graduated Haverhill High School in 1945 and married her childhood sweetheart and budding artist and art teacher, Norman Checkoway, two years later.

In post-war fashion, Barbara and Norman soon settled into a newly built ranch home in Framingham, Massachusetts where they would spend the rest of their lives together. There they raised three boys, Nelson, Steven and Martin, who eventually married and brought seven grandchildren into their lives: Emily, Chloe, Laura, Michael, Eva, Spencer, and Daniel. But from the outset, Barbara knew she wasn’t cut from the cloth of a 1950s suburban homemaker, and Norman’s seven-month sabbatical leave from Brookline’s Driscoll School to study and paint in Israel would prove to be a pivotal turning point in her life.

The family joined Norman’s parents, Chava and Dov, on Kibbutz Einat, a community they had helped to found during the pioneering days of Israel’s statehood. Barbara worked with Chava in Einat’s gladiola nursery and immersed herself in Israeli life and culture. A second sabbatical stretching a full year between the summers of 1969 and 1970 cemented this love affair with the land. Afterward, Barbara kept the connection intact stateside, staying in touch with Israeli friends and family through letters and phone calls, and yielding to the pull of this vibrant young nation, time and again.

Meanwhile, she embarked on an administrative career in higher education, first at Wellesley College, then at Brandeis University and finally at Boston University, where she managed the office of the Creative Writing Program run by novelist Leslie Epstein. Always regretful that she did not go on to college herself after high school, Barbara was determined to earn her degree. After a decade of part-time evening study, she finally donned a mortarboard and gown in her late 60s, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Metropolitan College of Boston University.

Among Barbara’s return trips to Israel were volunteer stints at the famed Hebrew immersion school for new immigrants, Shulamit Katz-Nelson’s Ulpan Akiva. In Framingham, Barbara became the go-to Hebrew tutor for Bar and Bat Mitzvah students. And she continued to revel in Israeli culture, from music to folk dancing.

Always thirsty for knowledge and new experiences, she and Norman traveled extensively, frequently audited courses together at BU, and were avid museum visitors and theatergoers—continuing well into their 80s until a pair of bad knees and Norman’s declining health slowed them down. After Norman’s passing, she lived in the home they had built together for another year with the help of loving caregivers, before spending her final 18 months at the Daggett-Crandall-Newcomb home in Norton, Massachusetts.

Barbara was fierce, she was demanding, she loved her family, she loved life, and she will be missed. And on June 15^th, for one final time, she heard the Promised Land calling her home.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Abraham Initiatives, a non-profit organization that promotes Jewish-Arab partnership across all facets of Israel’s society. To contribute, visit www.AbrahamInitiatives.org

Doris D. Zimmer died June 14 following a period of declining health.  She was 93.

She was born March 25, 1927 in NY, daughter of Eastern European immigrants Rose and Hyman DuKaten.  She grew up in the Bronx, graduated James Monroe High School and attended classes at City College of New York.

She married the love of her life, Alex Zimmer, and together raised four children, eventually making their home in Newton, Massachusetts.

She returned to college when her children were grown, earning a degree in social work which she used working as a caseworker at a Boston area agency until retirement.

For the past two years she made her home in an apartment she loved at Springhouse Assisted Living in Jamaica Plain where she enjoyed community activities and made new, dear friends.

She enjoyed travel, listening to music, her many friends and especially visits with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

She was supported in the last months by Hebrew Senior Life Hospice Care and Peace of Mind Home Care.  While all of the staff were caring and supportive, she developed a very special and loving relationship with a senior worker from Peace of Mind, Donna Evans, who brought her comfort and nurturance during her last months, and particularly her last hours, when her family could not be by her side.  We are so grateful.

She is survived by her children William Zimmer and his wife Marsha, Michael Zimmer and his wife Wendy Gordon, Wendy Gignoux and her husband Henri, LisaAnn Martin and her husband Matthew, six grandchildren, Emily, Joanna, Jonathan,Hannah, Ethan and Jason as well as 3 great grandchildren.

She was predeceased by her husband of almost 50 years Cantor Alex Zimmer, her subsequent partner of 7 years, Arthur Marcus, her parents, sister Sylvia and brother William.

A private burial will take place with a memorial for family and friends next summer.  In lieu of flowers, you may make contributions to Hebrew Senior Life Hospice Care.

Rudavsky, Rabbi Benjamin Z., of Cambridge, MA, passed away on June 13, 2020. Benjamin is predeceased by his late wife Malka Rudavsky and survived by their children Dahlia, Elana, and Oren Rudavsky, the late Eda Appelbaum and survived by their son Jesse Rudavsky. Benjamin leaves his beloved wife Kathleen Townsend and her children Luke, Martin, Tracy, and Julie Townsend, and Laura Stackpole. Beloved grandfather of 7, and proud great grandfather of 1. Cherished step grandfather of 8 and proud step great grandfather of 1. Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations in Benjamin’s memory may be made to the charity of your choice.

Carla J. Fink of Milford, Mass., passed away at age 72 on April 1, 2020, at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston while her husband held her hand. She was laid to rest in Sharon Memorial Park on April 6.

Carla was born December 16, 1947, in Dayton, Ohio. Her parents moved to Miami Beach, Fla., while she was an infant to be near her mother’s family. She made several lifelong friends there before moving to the Boston area to join the Brandeis University class of 1969. Shen remained close friends with a group of her classmates until the end. Other than two years in Cleveland to earn a Master of Science in Social Administration degree from Case Western Reserve University, she remained in the Boston area for the rest of her life.

Carla found her calling as a social worker. She held a number of positions in that field, most of them working with children or the elderly. Her proudest accomplishment was creating, from scratch, a Wraparound program that integrated a multiple services to support Deaf children who were dealing with other difficulties. That program evolved into today’s Walden Community Service at The Learning Center for the Deaf in Framingham.

Carla first dealt with breast cancer in the mid-1990s. It was treated and went away, to return with a vengeance in 2016. From that point on it could be slowed, and it was, but not stopped. She never stopped living during her multiple rounds of treatments, visiting Chile, Jordan, Israel, Australia and New Zealand with her husband after her second diagnosis and not slowing down until 2020. She lived life to the fullest for as long as she could and went down fighting.

Carla is survived by her loving husband, Dr. Efrem Mallach; by two stepsons and their families, including four grandchildren that she thought of as her own, by many cousins on both her parents’ sides, and by a host of friends to whom she brought joy whenever they met. She will be missed by all of them.

Contributions in Carla’s memory may be made to either of her two favorite charities, Doctors Without Borders and Planned Parenthood.

Irma Gurvits of Newton, MA, formerly of Fairfield, CT, passed away on June 10, 2020 at the age of 85. Irma was born on June 5, 1935, in Odessa, USSR.  In 1957, Irma graduated from the Odessa Hydrotechnical Institute as a civil engineer. During the 1970’s, Irma, along with her husband Victor, made a decision to leave the Soviet Union. After numerous denials, Irma and her family were able to leave the USSR in 1977.  Upon arrival to the United States, Irma and her family settled in Fairfield, CT.

Irma used her experience adjusting to her new country to help other recent immigrants.  She was active with Jewish Family Service of Bridgeport, where she volunteered to assist other new arrivals, teaching them how to assimilate into the new culture.

Irma was a talented seamstress, and was always ready to use her skills on her family and friends’ wardrobes.  She enjoyed traveling, board games and her winter home in Florida.  She had a passion for garage sales and often shared her newly found treasures with her loved ones.

Irma’s true passion was her family. She was a devoted wife of 64 years to her late husband Victor, and a loving mother and grandmother. She loved to host barbecues, dinners and birthday parties, where her family could get together to celebrate each other. Irma is survived by her sons Eugene and Valentin, her daughters-in-law Jennifer and Katrina, her grandchildren Laura Hallissey (JohnJoe), Alexander, Jeremy, Michelle, and Allen, and her great granddaughter Harper.

Funeral arrangements will be private. A celebration of Irma’s life will be held at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, a donation in Irma’s memory may be made to HIAS, P.O. Box 97077 Washington, DC 20090-7077, (hias.org), and to COVID-19 Response, Greater Boston Food Bank, 70 South Bay Ave, Boston, MA 02118.