Obituaries

Aaron “Bud” Knopping-of Delray Beach, formerly of Brookline, MA, on December 6, 2017. Beloved husband of Carol (Kaiserman) Knopping and the late Sandra (Price) Knopping. Devoted father of Susan Knopping and Jeffrey Knopping, and the late Edward Knopping. Dear stepfather of B.J. Forman and Lisa Davis. Loving grandfather of Rachel and Ross Talbert, and Gregory and Jacob Knopping. Loving step- grandfather of Ryan and Jordan McPherson and Sarena Greene, and step great- grandfather of  Kyran McPherson. Dear brother of Richard Knopping. Dear uncle of Ilene and Steven Knopping.  Graveside service at The Knights of Liberty Cemetery, 19 Washington St., Woburn, MA, on Sunday, December 10, 2017 at 10:00 am. Following services, memorial observance will be at the home of James and Eileen Samels until 8:00 pm  Sunday, and Monday 11-2 pm &  5-8 pm. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014,Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014 (www.michaeljfox.org/donate now) or Project Morry, 350 Executive Blvd., Suite 125,Elmsford, NY 10523 (www.projectmorry.org).

On December 5, 2017. Born June 18, 1924 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, son of the late Dora and Barney Marcus and brother of the late George Marcus, Arnold lived most of his life in Holbrook, MA and then Braintree, Massachusetts,Delray Beach, FL and North Easton, MA with his stunning wife and former Miss AZA Enid Marcus, to whom he was married to for 67 years, yes 67 years. Arnold was a life and disability specialist and Certified Life Underwriter of Marcus Insurance Agency in Chestnut Hill for many years.
A professional singer who did charity events for the Hebrew Home for the Aged and sang the National Anthem at Boston Celtics games under the stage name Mr. Shalom. He was an avid tennis player and housed Trish Bostrom of the Virginia Slims Tournament and then the Boston Lobsters and gave tennis lessons to special needs students in Florida. Arnold, who outlived his immediate family by decades, was talking about cholesterol and had skim milk, margarine and other Health foods in the early 1960’s long before most people knew what cholesterol was. He once served his children horse meat because of its low fat without telling them which was a mistake never repeated. Arnold and Enid were part of the original group in 1967 who helped to create an Ileitis and Colitis Foundation (now the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation-New England Chapter). Arnold was sharp and did crossword puzzles in ink. Arnold loved clothing and was active in fitness and strict on his dietary intake in order to live a remarkable 93 years staying current on current events throughout. Although very quiet of his military service in the Navy during World War II of the Sea of Japan, it became very important to him culminating in a award for outstanding military service presented by Congressman Joe Kennedy 6 months ago and concluded by a 45 minute interview by Congressman Kennedy about his Navy service which was videotaped and on file at the National Archives.
Arnold leaves Enid of North Easton, his daughter, Harriett June Ykasala of Stoughton , Eric Stanley Marcus and his wife Eileen of Northboro, MA, Stephen Marcus  and his wife Carol Augustyniak of North Easton, grandson Gregg Ykasala of Northboro and his wife Melissa, and great grandchild Josh. Jenna Marcus of Boston and Brad Marcus of New York City and Alexandra Marcus of Oakland and Jake Marcus of North Easton and Miami, FL. While a wonderful father and grandfather who loved unconditionally, he kissed us every time he saw us. Arnold will be remembered by his family as a loveable father, husband and grandfather.
Services at Temple Sinai, 25 Canton St. Sharon on Friday, December 8, 2017 at 12 Noon. Interment at Sharon Memorial Park. Remembrances may be made to Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of New England, 72 Park Street, Suite 202, Needham, MA  02494.

Of Lexington, on December 2, 2017. Beloved wife of Charles Brecher. Mother of Jonathan and Andrew. Grandmother of Dori. Services at Temple Emunah, 9 Piper Rd., Lexington, Monday, December 4, 2017 at 1:00 pm. Interment will follow at Beit Olam Cemetery, Wayland. Memorial observance will be at the Brecher residence, 1010 Waltham St., Lexington, Monday from 7-9 pm and Tuesday – Thursday, 2-4 & 7-9 pm. Minyan service will be held each evening at 7:45 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701.

Darius Dabruvka and Farhoud Moshfegh.Dear brother of Sarvenaz and Ottessa Moshfegh .Graveside services were held at Beit Olam East Cemetery.

This story was written by Werner’s granddaughter Beckie Moses

 Werner Herbert Gumpertz of West Newton, Massachusetts died on Friday, December 1, 2017. He passed peacefully while holding his wife Susan’s hand and surrounded by his family.

Werner was born on December 26, 1917 in Berlin, Germany to his parents Richard and Olga Gumpertz. His younger brother, the late Gerard “Mohamed” Gumpertz, was born four years later.

One thing was clear from an early age: Werner was born to be an engineer. He was particularly fascinated with trains and railway systems. One of his most beloved pastimes was setting up his electric railroads during the holidays—a tradition that continued throughout his life.

After completing high school, Werner moved to Zurich, Switzerland in 1936 to attend the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. He traveled to Amsterdam during the summer of 1939 to do volunteer engineering work. World War II broke out later that year and he was unable to return to Switzerland to complete his last year of engineering school. That year and those that followed were a time of worry and heartbreak for Werner and his family. His parents still lived in Germany during Kristallnacht and Richard was sent to Dachau Concentration Camp. Olga bribed the Gestapo with jewelry to free Richard, after which he fled to Holland to join Werner. Soon after, Werner convinced Richard to get visas and leave for the United States as soon as possible. Werner and Richard arrived in New York City on the Red Star Line’s Westernland on March 12, 1940. Olga and Gerry joined them in New York City in 1941.

In 1943, Werner was drafted into the U.S. Army. He completed his training at Camp Ritchie’s Military Intelligence Training Center. Werner went on to become an Army Intelligence Officer, serving overseas in Germany. He was later recruited by the U.S. Military Government and sent to Switzerland to identify and eliminate Nazi ideology from book publications. He led a distinguished military career and took great pride in serving his country.

Werner began his engineering career at MIT in 1947. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and advanced engineering degrees there and later joined the Department of Building Engineering and Construction as an instructor.

Werner also met his colleagues Howard Simpson and Frank Heger at MIT, with whom Werner would build Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH)—a multinational engineering firm. SGH was one of Werner’s proudest accomplishments and he was actively involved with the firm until the end of his life. His love of engineering, teaching and learning, and giving opportunities to young engineers is embedded into the fabric of the company.

Mutual friends introduced Werner to Elizabeth “Betty” Lewit in 1949. Both quickly realized that they had met their match and were engaged within two weeks. They were married on Thanksgiving that year and shared fifty years of a happy marriage until Betty passed away in 1999.

Werner and Betty purchased their house in West Newton in 1951, the home that Werner would call his for the rest of his life. They had two children—Richard “Rick” Gumpertz and Ruth (Gumpertz) Moses. The family enjoyed many trips to Europe, Sunday rides, playful rough-housing, and baking cookies with extended family during the holidays.

Rick had two daughters—Katie and Valerie, and Ruth had two daughters—Beckie and Samantha. Werner adored his granddaughters and they him. They cherish memories of building gingerbread houses, refinishing old tools from his tremendous collection, and listening to stories about his childhood, the war, his travels, his life.

In 2000, Werner got a second chance at love with Susan Connors. Susan was the tenant in the upstairs unit of Werner’s two-family. Both Susan and Werner had recently lost their spouses and as Werner put it, “Now both Susan and I rattled around the house, on separate levels of a house too big for us.” A spark struck between them on an outing to buy a new refrigerator for Susan. The two would go on to share a beautiful marriage filled with love, respect, loyalty, and admiration. As Werner said of their relationship, “In my eyes this love story is not a coincidence, but a miracle.”

Werner is survived by his wife, Susan Connors; his children, Richard Gumpertz and Ruth Moses; his granddaughters, Katie Bell, Valerie Gokhfeld, Beckie Moses, and Samantha Moses; his son and daughter-in-law, Joel Moses and Karen Rowinsky; as well as members of the Gumpertz, Block, Connors, Lawless, Perrone, and Suech families, and the immeasurable number of friends and colleagues who were lucky to know him. Werner was looking forward to becoming a great-grandfather in 2018.Werner left an indelible mark on each person he touched and his absence will never cease to be felt.

Many of the details shared above were pulled from Werner’s Odyssey: Berlin to Boston, written and compiled by Babette Kahn Rittmeyer.

Services will be held at The Wilson Chapel, 234 Herrick Rd., Newton Centre on Wednesday December 6, 2017 at 1:00pm.Interment to follow at Newton Cemetery. In lieu of flowers remembrances may be made to BIDMC Cardiac MR Center, c/o Dr. Warren Manning, 330 Brookline Ave, Boston, MA 02115 or Stoneman Center for Research and Education in Quality improvement ,c/o Dr. Mark Aronson, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center,330 Brookline Ave, Boston, MA 02115.

On December 1, 2017 at age 95. Born in Lodz, Poland. Survivor of The Holocaust, Auschwitz Concentration camp and Lodz Ghetto. Devoted wife to her predeceased husband “Yossel”, cherished mother of Chavi & Judah Lerer and Linda & Fred Chanowski.  Loving Bubbe to Devorah & Shlomo Schwartz, Blake Chanowski, Aron & Bryna Lerer, Moishe & Tova Lerer, Ross Chanowski and great-grandmother of seven. Services at Beth Menachem Chabad, 349 Dedham St., Newton, MA  on Sunday, December 3, 2017 at 2:00 pm.  Burial at Agudath Israel Cemetery, 776 Baker St., West Roxbury.  Shiva immediately following the burial at the home of Fred and Linda Chanowski. Shiva will continue Monday – Thursday 3-5 pm & 7 – 8:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Beth Menachem Chabad of Newton.

MISELMAN – Eunice (Fleishman), of Brockton, formerly of Randolph, and Plantation, FL, on December 1, 2017. Beloved wife of the late Raephel Miselman. Devoted mother of Robin Damari, Jeff Miselman, and Howard Miselman. Mother- in-law of Dawn Marrafino. Dear grandmother of Liat, Emily Hannah, Bill, Nicole, Alyssa, Michael. Great -grandmother of Ryan, Kyra, Joey, Leo, and Lyla. Graveside service at Sharon Memorial Park, 40 Dedham St., Sharon (please gather at the rear of the Administration Building), on Monday, December 4, 2017 at 10:45 am. Following services memorial observance will be at the home of Howard Miselman through 8:00 pm. In Lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to American Heart Association, 300 5^th Ave., Suite 6, Waltham, MA  02451.

84 years young, of Chestnut Hill, MA and Boca Raton, FL, formerly of Newton, Framingham, Mattapan and Chelsea, passed away at her home with family by her side on November 30, 2017. Cherished wife of the late Leonard Newman. Adored wife of the late Leonard Miller. Loving and generous mother of Brian Newman, Wendy Newman-Evans and Sam Miller. Fancy grandma of Laura Newman, Liza Evans, Luke Evans, Lance Miller and Justin Miller. She is survived by her loving sister, Marcia, many nieces, nephews and dear friends. She was pre-deceased by her siblings Phil, Bill, Bea and Florence. Services at Wilson Chapel, 234 Herrick Rd., Newton Centre, MA, Sunday, December 3, 2017 at 10:00 AM. Interment at Meretz Cemetery, Woburn. Memorial observance at her home on Sunday 6-8 PM. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Children’s Miracle Network – Shand’s Hospital division at Gainesville, FL, c/o CMN, 205 West 700 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84101 or Thanks To Yanks, 15 Virginia Dr., Milford, MA 01757.

Joseph H. Miller-on November 29, 2017, at the age of 88. Survived by his wife of 65 years, Ruth Miller; four children,Steven Miller, Barry Miller, Sharon Haims (Allan), and Mark Miller (Melissa); 5 grandchildren, Eli and Rachel Haims, Max, Evan and Samantha Miller; his sister, Gerri Motel and her late husband Paul, sister-in- law, Carolyn Miller and her late husband Marvin, brother-in-law Irwin Chafetz and his wife, Roberta. Also survived by loving nieces, nephews, and extended family and friends. Joseph was the ultimate salesman. He could have a conversation with anyone. He was an active member of Congregation Mishkan Tefila and will be remembered as the friendly usher. He served his country as a member of the US Army. He was the typical Boston sports fan, all in with all the local teams, especially the Red Sox. Funeral services on Sunday, December 3, 2017 at 1:00 pm at Wilson Chapel, 234 Herrick Rd., Newton. Interment will follow at Independent Pride of Boston Cemetery, 776 Baker St., West Roxbury. Shiva will begin Sunday immediately following the burial until 8:00 pm at The Hills at Mainstone Clubhouse, 133 Hillside Dr., Wayland, MA, and will continue at his late residence on Monday and Tuesday 2-4 & 7-9 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to NewBridge on the Charles,7000 Great Meadow Rd., Dedham, MA 02026 or Chabad of Lexington, 9 Burlington St., Lexington, MA 02173.

of Boston, on November 27, 2017. Beloved husband of the late Ruth (Epstein) Barry. Devoted father of Susan Ballard and her husband Tommy. Dear grandfather of Rebecca and Ethan. Loving brother of the late Gloria Simon. Services in The Chapel at Sharon Memorial Park, 40 Dedham Street, Sharon on Thursday, November 30, 2017 at 12 Noon. Remembrances may be made to Combined Jewish Philanthropies, 126 High Street, Boston, MA 02110, or to Alzheimer’s Association of MA, 480 Pleasant Street, Watertown, MA  02472.