Sarah Beth Kianovsky
Of Brookline, MA
Sarah, the beloved wife of Frank Friedman for more than 38 years, and adored mother of Yonit Rose and Samuel Jacob (Jordan White, partner) of Brooklyn NY, died the morning of 7 July 2025 at home, at peace and surrounded by loving family more than three years after the diagnosis of lung cancer.
She was predeceased by her parents, Rochelle and Raphael Kianovsky, and her grandparents Sol and Minnie Franklin, and Isaac and Dora Kianovsky, all of Milwaukee. She also leaves her brothers Zev Kianovsky (Arlene Lukin) and Nahum Kianovsky, her Aunt Diane, and 11 nieces/nephews and their partners, and many beloved cousins and dear friends.
She studied at UW Madison followed by graduate studies in Art History at the University of Chicago. In 1991 she moved to Boston and started in 1992 at what is now The Harvard Art Museums, with what began as a 1-year, non-renewable, part-time position, before retiring in 2023 as Curator of the Collection in Modern and Contemporary Art. In response to the country’s hostility towards immigrants and asylum-seekers, in 2017 Sarah collaboratively helped found the Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network (BIJAN). She urged consideration of donations to BIJAN (in lieu of flowers).
Funeral service will be Wednesday 9 July, 11 am, at Temple Israel of Boston, 477 Longwood Ave, (please park on the Riverway) followed immediately by burial at Mt. Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St. Shiva will commence from 2-5 pm on Wednesday at Temple Israel, and at the family home Thursday at 7 pm, Saturday at 8 pm, and Sunday at 10 am, when the family will rise from shiva.
The funeral may be viewed via Zoom: https://tisrael-org.zoom.us/j/83331876085?pwd=cEPKazmljcPV7jt9s2S6NKrXVRrRNz.1