Obituaries

Barbara (Brown) Benfield, of Needham, on April 10, 2013. Beloved wife of Peter B.
Benfield with whom she shared 51 years of marriage. Devoted mother of Susan
Benfield and her late husband Rob Sain of St. Paul, MN, David Benfield and his
wife Elaina of Boston, and Heather Benfield of Los Angeles, CA. Loving
grandmother who cherished Allison, Zachary, Matthew, Serena, and Zara. Dear
sister of Muriel Myerson and her husband Jerry of Wellesley. Barbara was unique
both to her family and friends and had a great love of life and learning. She
was a first rate molecular biology scientist at M.I.T. but also had “street
smarts” and was savvy about people. Barbara’s love of teaching led her to
become a great mentor to many female students at Mt. St. Joseph’s Academy in
Brighton where she was much beloved. A service to celebrate Barbara’s life will
be held at Temple Israel, 477 Longwood Ave. Boston (parking on The Riverway),
on Sunday, April 14, 2013 at 10:00 AM. Interment in Needham Cemetery. Memorial
observance will be at her home  Sunday 1:30-4:30 pm and  Monday
4:00-8:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to
the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen St. Framingham, MA 01701, or Barbara’s alma
mater, UMass Amherst, c/o Janet Muzzy ’05, Director of Stewardship and Donor
Relations, Memorial Hall, 134 Hicks Way, Amherst, MA 01003, or a charity of
one’s own choosing.

David Kolodney, age 94, of Brookline and Coconut Creek, FL, passed away on April 10, 2013. He was the beloved husband of Marilyn (Lessinger) Kolodney, devoted father of Lawrence Kolodney and his wife Heather Nelson of Cambridge, Michael Kolodney and his wife Joanna of Roanoke, VA, and Jeff Kolodney and his wife Marcia Tabenken of Newton, and dear grandfather of Jacob, Alexandra, Nathan, Sophia, Owen, Ryan, and Brandon.

Funeral services were private.

Memorial observance will be held at the home of Jeff Kolodney and Marcia Tabenken on Sunday, April 14, 2013 from 1:30-4:30 PM. In lieu of flowers remembrances may be made to the MSPCA, 350 South Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02130 – www.mspca.org

Tessy L. (Hodin) Cofman, of Pembroke Pines, FL, formerly of Worcester, died after a long battle with cancer on April 8, at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth. She was 77 years old.
Mrs. Cofman was born in Berlin, Germany, on October 6, 1935. Her parents, Leopold and Ruth Hodin, and her older brother, John, narrowly escaped from Germany in 1938 during the rise of the Nazi regime prior to World War II. The Hodins traveled by train to Holland and from there made their way to London, where the family lived through the war years and for three subsequent years before embarking on a new journey to the United States.
The Hodins arrived at Ellis Island in New York in December 1948, and settled in Worcester, living first on Park Avenue and later on Chandler Street. Mrs. Cofman was a 1953 graduate of Classical High School in Worcester, and attended Salter Secretarial School.
She worked for many years at Aetna Life & Casualty in Worcester, and before that at David Clark Company. Mrs. Cofman was a personnel secretary at David Clark Company at the height of the space race in the 1960’s, during which the United States’ original astronauts were provided the suits they would wear on their historic missions.
Mrs. Cofman moved from Worcester to Florida in 2006, where she resided until returning to Massachusetts recently to be with her family while receiving further treatment for her illness.
She is survived by her daughter, Debra Recka of Middleton; her son, Mark Cofman, and his wife, Paula, of Hull; her brother, John Hodin and his wife, Sylvia, of Orange, Conn.; stepsons, Geraldo Rivera and his wife, Mary, of Worcester, Jeffrey Weiser and his wife, Anna, of Simsbury, Conn., Lee Weiser of Leominster and Perry Weiser of Worcester; four grandchildren, Lindsey Recka, Evan Recka and Jack Recka of Middleton, and Giana Cofman of Hull. She is also survived by two nieces and one nephew.
FUNERAL SERVICES WILL BE HELD ON THURSDAY, APRIL 11th AT 2 PM IN TEMPLE EMANUEL AT 280 MAY ST. UNDER THE DIRECTION OF RICHARD PERLMAN OF BREZNIAK RODMAN FUNERAL HOME OF NEWTON. Burial will be in B’Nai Brith Cemetery.
Memorial Observance will be announced at the time of the funeral

Lillian (Goldstein) Chafetz, 95, of 109 South Flagg St., died at her residence on April 8th.
Her husband of 73 years, Samuel Chafetz died in 2012. Loving mother of Joanne Kaufman and her partner Bruce Bolton of Natick and the late Phyllis LeBlanc; beloved mother-in-law of Jerry LeBlanc; beloved sister-in-law of Sylvia Goldstein, beloved sister-in-law of the late Dr. Morris Chafetz and the late Marion Chafetz, beloved sister-in-law of the late Ethel Levy and her husband Dr. Sidney Levy and sister-in-law of the late Billie Goldstein; sister of the late Louis Goldstein and sister of the late Hy Goldstein; adoring grandmother of Heidi and her husband Steve Robinson, Karen Throckmorton and her husband Marc, David Hersh, Alyssa Lambert and her husband Rich, Jennifer Rothbart and her husband Mitch; doting great grandmother of Ben Levy and his wife Amanda, and Jessica, Joshua, Hayli, Jacob, Michaela, Matthew, Erica, Jack, Amanda, Max and Rachel, many nieces and nephews, her caretakers Rebecca, Effie and Dora and her many dear friends.
She graduated from Classical High School in 1935 and attended secretarial school in Boston.
With her husband she founded and owned and operated Kiddie Kastle, the Deb Shop and Brothers Too, all in Worcester.
She loved art and was very creative in art and knitting. She enjoyed skiing, sailing, Cape Cod and travelling all over the world. She was a member of Temple Emanuel, The Jewish Healthcare Center, The Worcester Art Museum and attended many classes at WISE.
She is loved and will greatly be missed by her family.
FUNERAL SERVICES WILL BE HELD AT 10 AM on THURSDAY, APRIL 11th at TEMPLE EMANUEL, 280 MAY ST. UNDER THE DIRECTION OF RICHARD PERLMAN OF BREZNIAK RODMAN FUNERAL HOME OF NEWTON. Burial will be in B’NAI Brith Cemetery.
Memorial Observance will be held through 5 PM on Thursday, April 11th at her residence at 109 South Flagg St.
Memorial contributions may be made to Turner’s Syndrome Society, 11250 West Rd., Suite G., Houston, TX 77065 or to the charity of the donor’s choice .

Spitz-Grace (Aronson), of Newton, on April 7, 2013. Beloved wife of the late George J. Spitz. Devoted aunt of Sandra Ciampa and her husband Joseph of Revere, Anita Aronson-Walker of Las Vegas, NV, Elaine Aronson-Proulx and her husband Paul of N. Andover, Steven Aronson and his wife Risa of Newton, Nancy Rubenstein and her husband James of Sharon, Bunny Aronson of Newton, Frederick Gilman and his wife Judy of Atlanta, GA, Peter Gilman and his wife Maytel of Brookline, and the late Charles Gilman and his wife Betty of Burlington. Grace is also survived by many loving great nieces and nephews. Loving sister of the late Morton Aronson, Sumner Aronson and his late wife Helen, and Norman Aronson and his surviving spouse Lee. Grace was instrumental in the Newton Food Pantry. She was very involved with the committee to have a sound barrier constructed on Rt. 128. She was also a devoted volunteer at the Angier school in Waban. Grace was involved in an organization that made afghans for foster children. She was the unofficial good will ambassador of Newton. Graveside services at Sharon Memorial Park, (120 Canton St., Sharon) on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 1:45 pm. Following interment, memorial observance will be at the home of Nancy & James Rubenstein until 5 pm, and  6-8 pm, and will continue at Grace’s late residence Wed. & Thurs 2-4:30 pm & 6-8 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital, 2014 Washington St., Newton, MA 02462, or the charity of your choice.

Hyman Rosenson,on  April 5, 2013. Pre-deceased by wife Harriet. Survived by children Nancy (David) Owens, Eric (Debbie) Rosenson, Valerie (Russell Robbins); grandchildren; great-grandchildren; Elaine Rosenson, Estelle Kutner. Service Sun, Apr 7, 2013, in  Great Neck, NY.

Theodore Blank, age 91, a longtime resident of Brookline, died on April 7, 2013.  He was the devoted son of the late Maurice and Sophie Blank, and a beloved friend to many.

From 1952 to 1989, Mr. Blank served as the coordinator of health education for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health while pursuing a doctorate in health education at Boston University.  Also, for thirty years, he taught in the Health Professions programs at Northeastern University.  Before pursuing his college studies, Mr. Blank served in the U.S. Army during WWII.

Graveside services will be held at Sharon Memorial Park, 40 Dedham St. Sharon, MA on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 12:45 PM.  In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Planned Parenthood, 260 Elm St., Suite #109, Somerville, MA 02144 – plannedparenthood.org

Robin Bernstein Wexler, of Deerfield Beach, FL, formerly of Brookline, MA, on April 3, 2013. Beloved daughter of the late Peggy and Morris Bernstein. Niece of Marion Kaplan. Mother of Jessica Lipman and her husband David, Michael Wexler and his wife Rachel.  Grandmother of Serena and Samuel Lipman, Gabriel, Sonia and Eli Wexler. Sister of Peter Bernstein, Nancy Wexler Flathe and her husband John. Friend of Robert Wexler. Graveside services at Sharon Memorial Park on Monday, April 8, 2013, at 10:45 am. Family and friends will gather at the home of Lisa and Tom Monroe from 12:30-4:30 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association of MA, 480 Pleasant St. Watertown, MA 02472.