Obituaries

Saul S. Wersted, late of Sharon, MA, and Delray Beach, FL, peacefully entered into rest on Friday, January 13, 2017 after a struggle with pneumonia.

Saul was born in Boston on April 12, 1921 to Samuel and Mollie. He grew up in Revere, MA, where he met Evelyne, the love of his life, the air he breathed, in their high school Gilbert and Sullivan Society. They were fortunate to be married for 71 ½ years until her death in 2014. As a young boy Saul sold newspapers on the street corner. He worked throughout high school as well and put himself through college, as his father died when Saul was a teenager. He graduated Northeastern University and became a Certified Public Accountant. In 1954, Saul and Evelyne, with their two daughters, Susan and Mollyann, moved to Sharon, MA and became homeowners. They immediately became involved with Temple Israel. Saul served two terms as president and Evelyne was the first woman president of the synagogue.

Saul was proud of the accomplishments of both of his daughters, Susan Bennett (Stephen) of Whidbey Island, WA, and Mollyann Blumenthal (Peter) of Sharon, MA, and those of all of his grandchildren, Shaun Wersted (Amy), the late Jeremy Blumenthal, JD., PhD., (Judy Bernstein), Joshua Blumenthal, Rafi Blumenthal (Elysa), Lani Blumenthal, Stacey Smith (Jeffrey) and Stephen Matthew Bennett. Saul adored his great-grandchildren; Alex and Kylie Wersted; Daniel, Rebecca and Matthew Blumenthal; and Jacob and Max Blumenthal. He was predeceased by his older sister, Ceil Wersted Ziegler Oliver.

Saul valued family, education, and Jewish life. He was a man of integrity and high standards. Those are his legacy.

Funeral services will be held at Temple Israel, 125 Pond Street, Sharon, MA on Monday afternoon, January 16, 2017 at 2:00 PM. Shiva will be held at the Blumenthal home in Sharon, Monday after the funeral, Tuesday through Thursday, 12:00-5:30 PM and 7:00-9:00 PM, with minyan at 7:45PM, Friday from 12 noon to 2:00 PM, and Sunday from 12 noon until 2:00 PM.

Contributions in Saul’s memory would be appreciated to the following charities:

Temple Israel: Saul and Evelyne Wersted Scholarship Fund, c/o Temple Israel 125 Pond Street, Sharon, MA 02067; Hadassah, c/o Pomerantz, 9 Heather Way, Sharon, MA 02067

Retired Newton fifth and sixth grade teacher, passed away peacefully at home, at age 91, on January 13, 2017. Valedictorian Lynn English High School 1942, B.A. with Honors Radcliffe College 1946, M.Ed. Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a teacher in Newton for 25 years. Beloved wife of 52 years to the late Jordan H. Mishara and devoted mother of Eric Mishara and wife Helene, Joan Mishara Mills and husband Dennis, and Judith Mishara Sherman and husband Fred.  She is also survived by her grandchildren, great grandchildren, family, and friends.

Shirley’s earliest memories were of growing up near Nahant Beach, where she learned to swim and developed a lifelong love of the ocean.

In 1950, after college graduation and marriage, she took her first airplane flight to remote Jeremie, Haiti.  In Haiti, her husband, an engineer, helped to build the area’s first suspension bridge, while Shirley studied French.  After a year, they returned to Boston and started a family.

Shirley had a thirst for knowledge and was a teacher by calling; first to her own children, and later to her students.  Teaching was “exhausting” and teachers faced “too much blame” for educational “problems,” but the reward was connecting with “inspired” students.

In retirement, she devoted herself to family and friends, volunteered to teach foreign students English, traveled, gardened, played Bridge, did crossword puzzles, skied into her seventies, enjoyed deep water aerobics, read books passionately, and was an avid attendee at the theater, opera, local museums, lectures and movies.

Funeral services at the chapel at Sharon Memorial Park, 40 Dedham St., Sharon, on Monday, January 16, 2017 at 12 Noon. Mourners welcome afterward at the family home and then the next day between 11 Am until 2 PM.  Memorial gifts may be made to the Newton Free Library.

age 95, of Worcester, MA and Providence, RI, died Thursday at her home in Dedham. She leaves behind three children, Dianne Solomon of Wayland, MA, Laura Grace of Alexandria, VA, and Arthur Grace (Debra) of Ojai, CA; two step-daughters, Martha Grace (Nason Hurowitz) of Worcester and Roberta Pliner of New York, NY; three grandchildren, Charles Grace of Needham, MA, Meredith Reichheld (Robert) of Shrewsbury, MA, and Cara Solomon of Somerville, MA; and three great-grandchildren. Sonia was predeceased by her first husband, Charles Grace of Worcester; her second husband, Milton Pliner of Boca Raton, FL; and her son, Nathan Grace of Holden, MA.

A master storyteller with a quick, dry wit, Sonia was wise in a way that had nothing to do with education, and strong in a way that she built over time. The daughter of Jena and Aaron Mowshowitz, she was born in Poland, emigrated to Worcester as a child, and later graduated from Commerce High School. At a time when few women were working outside the home, Sonia bought and successfully ran a business, Electrix Corporation in Ashton, RI, with her husband Milton. In her retirement, she was an active volunteer at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. She brought goodness to every community she made her home, including West Hyannisport, MA, Boca Raton, FL and NewBridge on the Charles in Dedham, where she passed away.

A memorial service will be held on Monday, January 16, 2017 at 3 p.m. at NewBridge on the Charles, 5000 Great Meadow Rd., Dedham, MA. Memorial contributions may be made to Bottom Line, which helps low-income and immigrant students reach college and graduate, 50 Milk St, 16^th floor, Boston, MA 02109, or DonorsChoose.org, which supports public school teachers with classroom needs.

Murray  Weisman-of  Mansfield, MA, formerly of Stoughton, on January 12, 2017. Beloved husband of the late Dotty (Holtzman) Weisman for 65 years.Devoted father of Alan Weisman and his wife Michelle, David Weisman and his wife Virginia.Dear grandfather of Alixe Weisman and Sam Weisman. Dear great- grandfather of Lucien. Dear brother of Edward Weisman and the late Bernie Weisman. Murray was a proud WWII Navy Veteran.Graveside service at  Zviller Cemetery, 776 Baker St., West Roxbury, on Monday, January 16, 2017 at 10:00 am. Following the service family and friends are invited to the Village at Willow Crossings Clubhouse, 25 Cobb St.,Mansfield,MA until 5:00 pm. In lieu of flowers remembrances to Dana Farber Cancer Institute,10 Brookline Place West, 6^th Floor, Brookline, MA 02445.

Geffen- Evelyn (Wekstein), of Needham, MA passed away on January 10, 2017. Devoted mother of Richard and his wife Betty, grandmother of Benjamin, and aunt of Ann and Paul Wekstein. Loving sister of the late Dr. Louis Wekstein and his wife Janice (Rosen), and Abraham Wekstein and his wife Paula (Guterman). Dear friend since childhood of the late Eleanor Grosser. Evelyn loved playing classical music on her piano which she purchased when she was a young woman. Graveside service at Sharon Memorial Park, 40 Dedham St., Sharon, on Friday, January 13, 2016 at 11:45 am. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Dana Farber Cancer Institute, www.dana-farber.org.

Arthur Bell of Newton, January 8, 2017.Per Arthur’s wishes his graveside service was privately held.

Ronni Jane Casty- of Brookline.  Died peacefully on January 9, 2017 at the age of 70 after a two year battle with cancer. Beloved wife of Ronald G. Casty.  Dear daughter of Frank Stevens and the late Edith (Shapiro) Stevens.  Devoted mother of Jamie Gordon and her husband Brad Lindenbaum of NYC; stepmother to Audrey Casty and Shaun Connelly, and Nicole Casty and Jon Vignati.  Loving grandmother of Ben, Eli, Truman, Jackson and Hudson. Ronni was fiercely loyal to her endless cadre of good friends from near and far who were drawn to her boundless enthusiasm for life.  She supported the arts, education, theater and more with a genuine zest.  We will remember her smile, her laugh and her love.Final arrangements are private.Donations in Ronni’s memory may be made to Artists for Humanity, 100 W. 2^nd St., Boston, MA 02127.

Jay Negin-on January 7, 2017. Services were held at Temple Beth Zion, Brookline,MA, followed by burial at Temple Emanuel Memorial Park, Randolph, on Monday, January 9, 2017.

Annabelle Orenberg, of Lexington, MA died peacefully with her family by her side on January 9, 2017.  She was the beloved wife of Arthur Orenberg for 66 years, and the loving sister of David Ellis and his wife Beri of W. Palm Beach and Mashpee.  Annabelle was a devoted mother to her daughters, Joan Orenberg of Coconut Creek, FL, Ellen Chertov and her husband Leny of West Roxbury, and son Robert Orenberg of Lexington.  She is the adored grandma of Mick, Alex and Jessica and the proud aunt of many nieces and nephews.  Annabelle was a founding member of Temple Emunah in Lexington, a lifetime member of Hadassah, and inherited from her own parents a strong devotion to the Red Sox.  She worked for many years as an accountant at McGraw Hill – Data Resources in Lexington.  

Funeral services will be held Thursday, January 12, 2017, 1:00 P.M., at Temple Emunah, 9 Piper Road, Lexington, MA, followed by interment at Anshei Sfard Cemetery at the Baker Street Jewish Cemeteries, 776 Baker Street, West Roxbury.  

Shiva will be held at the home of Ellen and Leny Chertov, 116 Mount Vernon Street, West Roxbury, on Thursday, January 12, 2017 following the interment until 8 pm, and will continue Friday, January 13 from 1-4 pm  and Saturday, January 14 from 5:30-7 pm.

Freda K. Lindblom, 90, of Framingham, MA, passed away January 8, 2017. Freda was pre-deceased by her husband of 34 years, William Stanley Lindblom of Bristol, RI. She was the daughter of the late Jack & Gertrude (Loeb) Kahn and the much-loved older sister of the late Marcia Westerman of Chicago, IL, and the late Marian Temkin of Providence, RI.

She is survived by her three children with her first husband, Dr. Sherman W. Pochapin of Pittsburgh, PA; Jay and his wife Jamie Pochapin of Antioch, TN, daughter Sandra Pochapin and her husband Peter A. Kachajian, Jr. of Southborough, MA and Lee Pochapin of Novato, CA.  She was the beloved grandmother of Philip Kachajian of Southborough, MA and Jamilah Sesay of Antioch, TN.

Born and raised in New York City, Freda held an undergraduate degree in Business from the Stern School of Management at NYU. An avid reader, she earned a Masters in Library Science from the University of Pittsburgh. Freda worked as a reference librarian for Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, then she moved to Rhode Island where she worked in the reference departments of the Warwick Public Library, Providence College, and Johnson & Wales University.  She retired from the Foxborough Public Library in Foxborough, MA.

Service will be held at 11:30 on Thursday, January 12th at Beit Olam East Cemetery, 42 Concord Road, Wayland, MA.  Memorial observance will be held at the home of Sandra Pochapin and Peter Kachajian from 7:00pm till 9:30pm on Thursday evening.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Congregation B’nai Torah, P O Box 279, Sudbury, Massachusetts, or the Christa MacAuliffe branch of the Framingham Public Library. Checks (payable to the Framingham Public Foundation, Inc.) should be sent to the Framingham Public Library Foundation, Inc., 49 Lexington St., Framingham, MA 01702. Please specify Christa MacAuliffe branch on your check.