Obituaries

Shirley (Schwartz) Rackowitz of Haynes Rd., West Hartford, beloved widow of William Rackowitz, died Monday, July 12, 2010. Born in New York, NY, she was the daughter of the late Joseph and Gussie (Kargman) Schwartz, and was a graduate of Weaver High School, Class of 1943. She was the head bookkeeper at Made Rite Products and PGS Distributors and was...

Charles H. Press of Harvest Lane, West Hartford, husband of the late Barbara Rosenthal Press, died Monday, February 8, 2010 at St. Francis Hospital. Born in Brooklyn, NY, he was an Army veteran of the Korean War. He is survived by two sons: Bruce Press and his wife Julie of Ellicott City, MD, and Matthew Rosenthal and his wife Christine...

Arnold S. Novick, 67, of Tamarac, FL, passed on Sunday (6/22/14). Beloved husband of the late Susan (Menis) Novick. Devoted mother of Ross (Kate) Novick and Justin Novick. Loving brother of Heidi (Robert) Begun. Proud uncle of Joanna Begun and Stuart, Michael, Andrea and David Menis. Adored grandfather of Nathaniel and Sariah Novick. Funeral will be Wed, June 25, 2:30pm,...

Lois (Yasler) Isaacson, born December 12, 1942, of West Hartford, died peacefully on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. Born in Danbury, she was the daughter of the late Morris and Florence (Reiner) Yasler. The world has lost one of the good people. Lois was an outgoing and adventurous soul. In high school she traveled to Europe with her Girl Scout troop,...

Barry Kursman, 65, of Spyglass Drive, Avon, husband of Nancy (Sodokoff) Kursman, died Thursday, June 14, 2007. Born in Worcester, MA, he was the son of the late Irving and Lillian (Levinson) Kursman. He was a graduate of Boston University. He was a member and Past President of Farmington Valley Jewish Congregation-Emek Sholom, a past member of the Simsbury Theater...

Ann C. Poch, age 95, died Tuesday, January 26, 2010, in West Hartford. Born in Plattsburg, NY on January 14, 1915, she was the daughter of Samuel and Bessie (Hoff) Caplan. She moved to the Hartford area when she was a little girl and became a lifelong resident of the greater Hartford community. Ann graduated from New Britain State Teacher’s...

Ethel Hutner-Blum, 91 years of age, of Margate, FL and Thousand Oaks, CA, died on Monday, March 10, 2014 at her home in Florida. Born in Hartford, CT, where she lived most of her life, Ethel was the daughter of the late Esther and Abraham Freeman, and sister of the late Anna Beck. Husbands, Albert D. Hutner, Alfred Blum and...

Steven Pfau, 69 years of age, of Bloomfield died Thursday, April 16, 2015. Born in Waterbury, he was the son of the late Henry and Marion Solomon Pfau. He leaves his adoring sister and brother in law, Sheila Shechtman and her husband Richard of Avon, Sharon Whitely of Tucson Arizona, and two favorite nieces, Rachel and Jenny Shechtman, of NYC....

SCHINDELMAN, Sylvia (Zaslow) Schindelman, 77 years of age, of Albany Ave., West Hartford, died Sunday, April 17, 2011 at home. She was the widow of Marc M. Schindelman. Born in Berlin, Germany, she was the daughter of the late Salomon and Emma (Beer) Zaslow. Sylvia graduated from City College of the City University of New York and later went on...

Jay Burton Israel, 90 years of age, died Saturday, July 7, 2012 at the Kathleen Daniel Health Care Center, Framingham, MA, after a period of failing health. He was the son of the late Carl and Celia (Stutz) Israel, and was brought up in Willimantic. He was predeceased by his dear friend Lillian Ginsburg. He is survived by his brother,...

Regina (Jacobs) Lubka, of West Hartford, died Thursday, May 13, 2010. She was the widow of Samuel Lubka. Born in Poland, she was the daughter of the late Elimelach and Ruchel (Rosenshein) Jacobs. She was a Holocaust survivor. Regina and her late husband Sam owned the former Calfas Hatters, Asylum St., Hartford for 40 years, a Hartford institution, before retiring...

Sherwin Morton (Shep) Schloss, 81, of Mt. Lebanon, PA, formerly of West Hartford, CT passed away in PA on February 20, 2015. Born in Hartford, CT on December 6, 1933, Shep was the son of the late Samuel and Fay (Perlman) Schloss. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Phyllis Selma (Pisetsky) Schloss. He was a loving father...

Edward Joseph Hotez, 89, of Bloomfield, CT passed away peacefully on Friday morning at the Hebrew Home, Bloomfield on January 9, 2015. Funeral services will held at 10:30 am on Monday, January 12, 2015 in the Chapel of the Weinstein Mortuary, 640 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105, and he will be laid to rest with full military honors at Beth...

Jennie Jacobson Levy and William Levy welcomed a daughter, Blanche, into the world on April 9, 1918 in Brooklyn, NY. It was the height of the Influenza Epidemic which soon took her father’s life. Her mother died when Blanche was still a young girl and she went to live with her mother’s brother. She began a career as a textile...

Samuel Sam Sarinsky, 93, of Farmington, CT died June 22, 2014 with his loving family by his side. Born in Colchester, CT on June 13, 1921 to the late Cecilia and Sidney. Sam was a wonderful story teller, great humanitarian and a keen observer of life. Sam was employed by EIS Automotive Corp. in Middletown, CT as a Tool and...

Leona (Leventhal) Nestor, 93, of New London and Mystic, passed away peacefully on December 13, 2013 at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London. Leona was born on January 31, 1920, daughter of Reba (Sofness) and Hyman Leventhal of Sharon, MA. She grew up in Sharon, MA. She married Joseph Nestor in 1943 and they operated Nestor’s Interiors in Hartford,...

David W. Leader, life-long resident of West Hartford, CT, died August 4 at the age of 97. He was dedicated to his family, service to the general and Jewish communities and public education. Born in Hartford, CT on March 22, 1911 to Yetta Bender and Morris Leader, he graduated from Weaver High School in Hartford, CT, where he was president...

Florence Marcus Portnoy, a long time resident of West Hartford, was a caring wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. She passed quickly on September 7, 2021 at the age of 94. “Florrie” (not Flo!) left three children, Lisa, Michael (Susan), and Neil; four grandchildren, Olivia, Elizabeth, Andrew (Nicole), and Ben (Rachel); and two great-grandsons, Zach and Gabe. She was predeceased...

Beth Ann Lipton, 54, of Ellington, died peacefully Saturday, (April 29, 2006) at Manchester Memorial Hospital after a courageous battle with cancer. Born on February 14, 1952 in Springfield, MA, she was the daughter of Eleanor Lipton and the late Simon Lipton. She is survived by three brothers, William Lipton and his wife, Jeanne, Donald Lipton, Jeffrey Lipton and his...

Max Potish of Farmington died on Thursday, September 13, 2006. He was a wonderful man and will be missed by his family and everyone who knew him. He was born in the Bronx, NY on May 5, 1921. A long time resident of Bloomfield, CT he enjoyed his retirement years in Boca Raton, Florida with his wife Florence. Max proudly...