Obituaries

Arthur Gartel, 91 years of age, of West Hartford, died Wednesday, July 2, 2014. He was the husband of the late Gretchen (Esty) Gartel. Born in New Rochelle, NY, he was the son of the late William and Lillian (Alexander) Gartel. Arthur served in the US Navy during World War II. He owned the former Sabar Industries in Berlin, and...

Melvin Y. Gershman, 87, of Naples, FL and Lenox, MA, formerly of West Hartford, CT, died Wednesday, September 4, 2013. Born in Hartford, he was the son of the late Harry and Minnie (Zubrow) Gershman. A graduate of Trinity College, he served in the Merchant Marines during World War II. Prior to his retirement in 1985, he was the Executive...

Aviva Benanav, July 17, 1924 - July 1, 2012. Born Isadora Rosen in Ivesti, Romania, Aviva survived forced marches and a brutal Transnistrian ghetto during the Holocaust. She met her late husband, Joshua, in December, 1944, on the deck of a refugee boat sailing across the Black Sea, and married him three days later on a train in Turkey, bound...

GERSHMAN, Isadore N. Gershman, 85 years of age, of West Hartford, formerly of Rocky Hill and Windsor, died Saturday, January 2, 2010. Born in Hartford , he was the son of the late Abraham and Jennie (Weinberg) Gershman. He was a graduate of Wesleyan University with a B.A. and Harvard University with an M.B.A. He was a US Army veteran...

Rae (Oster) Grobard, 78 years of age, of Dallas, GA, formerly of West Hartford, died Wednesday, December 10, 2014. Born in the Bronx, NY, she was the daughter of the late Saul and Fannie (Kandell) Oster. She leaves her children, Scott, Glenn and Shari and six grandchildren, Madison, Casey, Sidney, Zachary, Samantha and Brett. She was predeceased by her brother...

Raelea Shenker Bobrow, of Key Biscayne, FL, formerly of West Hartford CT, died Sunday, January 5, 2014. She was 97 years old. Born in Philadelphia, PA, Raelea was the daughter of the late Joseph and Ida Rosenfeld Shenker and the widow of Hersh Bobrow, D.D.S.of Hartford, CT. She leaves three daughters, Nancy Gitlin and her husband Richard, Donna Forsyth and...

Samuel Cohen, 89, beloved husband of Ida (Epstein) for almost 70 years, passed away peacefully on October 20 after a full life as husband, father, friend and businessman. Sam was born in 1922, “by the railroad tracks,” in New Rochelle, NY. At age 13 he and his family moved to Palestine, and, in lieu of attending school, Sam worked in...

Jane Field, 93, of West Hartford, passed away surrounded by her family on August 25, 2013. Jane was born in New Britain on April 9, 1920. She was predeceased by her husband, Nathan, to whom she was married for 54 years. She is survived by her daughters Emmy Fast and her husband, Steve, Robin Porges and her husband, Norm, and...

John D. Dragat, of West Hartford, died Monday, August 11, 2008. Born in Hartford, he was the son of the late Edward and Eva (Sack) Dragat. He graduated from Wilbraham Academy and from Yale University and he received his J.D. from Cornell University School of Law. He was a US Navy Veteran of World War II. He was admitted to...

Geraldine (Davidson) Greenberg, 90 of West Hartford, beloved wife of Victor, Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother, died peacefully Friday, February 23, at St. Francis Hospital & Medical Center. She was born in Chicago on September 4, 1916 to the late David and Anna Davidson. She lived most of her life in West Hartford. She married Victor in 1941 and after the...

Ethel Simkowitz Bernstein, 99, of Avon, CT, formerly of Fall River, MA, passed away November 4, 2013. For 68 years she was married to the love of her life, Herman who predeceased her in April, 2004. She is survived by her children, Diane and Larry Greenfield of West Hartford, CT and Leslie Bernstein of Fall River, MA and by her...

Faye Etkind Cohen, age 91 of West Hartford, CT, passed away peacefully on August 5, 2023. Her husband, Al Cohen, predeceased her in 1995. Together the couple travelled far and wide, raised two strong, independent and loving daughters and supported each other in accomplishing their dreams. Faye was a staunch member of the community, and will be missed by many....

William B. Glotzer, age 88 of Glastonbury, CT, peacefully passed away early Sunday morning November 3, 2013 at St. Francis Hospital surrounded by his loving family. He was the best friend and husband of 67 years of Janice (Franklin) Glotzer. Born in Hartford, he was the son of the late Isadore and Sara (Saxe) Glotzer. He served in the European...

Born in Hartford on January 17, 1913, Judge Simon Bernstein died at his home in Sarasota FL on May 27, 2013, in his 101st year. Judge Bernstein is survived by his beloved daughters, Judith S. Kahn (Steven Rosen) of St. Petersburg, FL, Sara L. Bernstein (Judge Joseph M. Shortall) of Bloomfield and Risa B. Sodi (Stefano) of New Haven. He...

Elizabeth Weinstein Helferich, 86, of Windsor Locks, CT, and Bangor, ME, died Friday, March 16, 2012. She was born January 9, 1926 in Peabody, MA, daughter of Harry and Bessie (Shachatovitz) Weinstein. Elizabeth, called Lili as a young girl, moved to Newark, NJ and grew up in her parents’ Confectionery and Luncheonette. After high school , during World War II,...

Vera A. Glass, a longtime resident of West Hartford, CT, died in Morristown, NJ on October 18. 2008. She was born in the Hartford Hospital, the daughter of Bess and Jacob Goldman. She was a graduate of William Hall High School and a sixty year member of Congregation Beth Israel of West Hartford. Her family defined her life. The loving...

Milton ‘Milt’ G. Cohen, 86 years of age, of Boynton Beach, Fl, died June 30, 2011. He was the husband of Mildred ‘Milly’ (Levine) Cohen. Born in Coney Island, NY, he was the son of the late Joseph and Rose (Elias) Cohen. Milt met the love of his life Milly there. Milt was 17 and Milly was 14. They married...

Molly (Gitlavitz) Epstein, 100 years of age, of Hamden, formerly of West Hartford and Guilford, died Friday, April 26, 2013. She was the widow of Isadore M. Epstein. Born in New Britain, she was the daughter of the late Hyman and Ida (Konick) Gitlavitz. Molly taught in the West Hartford Public School System until she retired. She was a life...

DEMBAR, George Dembar, 91, of Westbrook, formerly of Bloomfield, died Sunday, March 18, 2007 at Middlesex Hospital. Born in Hartford, he was the son of the late Edna and Michael Dembar. A loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, he leaves his wife, Rachel BenMaor Dembar, after 66 years of a wonderful marriage. He was a former beautician and owner of...

Eleanor Joyce (Goldman) Cohen, 76 years of age, of West Hartford, died Tuesday, December 18, 2012. She was the widow of Myron A. Cohen. Born in Detroit, MI, she was the daughter of the late Alexander and Clara (Weinberger) Goldman. She leaves her daughters, Sandra E. Cohen of West Hartford, Susan M. Cohen and her partner Kate Carey of Northborough,...