Rose E. Avnet

PITTSFIELD -- Rose E. "Roz" Avnet, 78, of 434 Holmes Road, died Sunday at home. She had battled pancreatic cancer for more than two years.

Born in Bronx, N.Y., on Jan. 12, 1929, daughter of Abraham and Bertha Schack Smilkstein, she was a 1946 graduate of Mount Kisco (N.Y.) High School and a 1950 graduate of New Paltz State Teachers College. She moved to Pittsfield in 1976.

Mrs. Avnet taught elementary school in Rochester, N.Y., before raising her family.

She was a member of the board of Temple Anshe Amunim, where she sang in the choir, was chairwoman of the Worship Committee and directed the Committee on Adult Education for more than 10 years. She also was a member and past president of the Berkshire Art Association, a member of Pittsfield Beautiful and of Berkshire Bounty, and a past volunteer at Morningside Community School.

She enjoyed gardening, traveling, taking classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (formerly Berkshire Institute for Lifetime Learning), celebrating events with her Chinese Cooking Club and reading.

She and her husband, Dr. Norman Avnet, celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary in June. They were married in Rochester, N.Y., where he was a medical student.

Besides her husband, she leaves a son, Mark Avnet of Goshen, Conn.; two daughters, Judith Murphy of Lakeville, Conn., and Amy Avnet of Seattle; a brother, Morris Smilkstein of Upland, Calif.; a sister, Sandra Levey of Sandwich; four grandchildren; and two step-grandchildren.

FUNERAL NOTICE -- A memorial service for Rose Avnet, who died Sunday, Nov. 18, 2007, will be conducted at Temple Anshe Amunim at 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 25. Barbara Cohen, a close friend and spiritual leader of Congregation Avahath Sholom in Great Barrington, will officiate along with Rabbi Mark Wieder of Temple Anshe Amunim. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are welcome for Temple Anshe Amunim or for HospiceCare in the Berkshires in care of DEVANNY-CONDRON FUNERAL HOME. The
family will receive friends during Shiva following the service until 5 p.m., and from 7 until 9 p.m. on Sunday and 1 until 6 p.m. on
Monday at the family home. Mrs. Avnet also leaves her grandchildren, Cory and Gregory Murphy, and
Carly and Griffin MacConnell; two step-grandchildren, Colin and
Hayley McEachern; a daughter-in-law, Lisa Avnet; and two sons-in-law, Patrick Murphy and James MacConnell, as well as several dearly loved nieces, nephews and cousins. A world-class mother, she enjoyed keeping up with a treasured family and dear friends. No activity gave her more pleasure than her active devotion to her grandchildren. She particularly enjoyed spending time with loved ones in the family's vacation home in Lake Luzerne, N.Y. She was predeceased by a brother, Gabriel Smilkstein.