JULIA CUSHMAN

1921 - 2023

CUSHMAN, Julia (Krasnow) Devoted wife, mother and friend. Beloved wife of the late Frank M. Cushman; devoted daughter of Morris and Fanny Krasnow of Malden, died Saturday night at home, in Sharon, surrounded by family members. She was 102 years old. Ms. Cushman leaves her children, son Steven Cushman (Maria) of Rehoboth; daughters Ina Cushman of Sharon and Deborah Cushman of Dedham. Ms. Cushman was born in Dorchester in 1921. She graduated from New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn, winning the New York State High School Regents Exams Medal of Honor in Latin. After two years at Brooklyn College, Ms. Cushman left for Malden for a job with a local dentist, where she met the love of her life while working on his teeth. She left dentistry to become a war worker, testing gas masks for the United States Army's Chemical Warfare Unit based at M.I.T.'s Draper Lab. Ms. Cushman married in 1945, in a borrowed grown, three weeks after her fiancé's return from the European Theater. She later often remarked that having no time for elaborate wedding plans was the best way to get married. The couple moved to New York, where she resumed her studies at New York University, while earning money proofreading the New Testament. When they returned to Malden, they started a family and continued after moving to Sharon in 1954. Ms. Cushman was raising three children when she returned to college as an English major at Northeastern University. When applying there for a master's degree in counseling, admissions officials told her she was too old to join the program. She threatened the university with charges of ageism, got her degree and had a successful career as a therapist. After she retired, Ms. Cushman worked until her death as a tutor of English as a second language, teaching and guiding in life many students over the years. She was avidly pro-choice and worked, pre-Roe, for an agency that provided counseling for women and girls seeking abortions and arranged for them to receive the procedure where it was legal. Ms. Cushman was a loving wife and mother who fought fiercely for her husband and children's healthcare needs, spending many days and nights in hospital rooms. She was a great cook, host and ballroom dancer. Ms. Cushman was active in her husband's logistics firm for the entirety of its existence. She also edited his books with him. Ms. Cushman had been active for many years in The League of Women Voters and was a long-time member of Temple Israel of Sharon. Funeral Service on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, at Temple Israel, 125 Pond St., Sharon, MA at 11:00 AM. Interment Sharon Memorial Park. Shiva will be held at her late residence Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 3pm – 5pm and 6:30pm – 8:30pm. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made In Julia Cushman's name to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

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