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The
Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
May 5 - May 11, 2005 Edition
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OBITUARIES May 5, 2005
After an extended illness, Robert Blum died peacefully on April 27 at his West Tisbury home surrounded by loving family. He was 76 years old. Services were held Sunday, May 1 at the Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center and at the gravesite on Pine St. in Vineyard Haven, where family and friends from all over the Island gathered to pay tribute. Bob and Shanti, his wife of 43 years, were seasonal residents of the Island for years before becoming year-round Vineyarders in 1995. Their move came after Bob retired as a oral and maxilla facial surgeon with practices in Wayne and Ridgewood, N.J. Born in 1929 in Erie, Pa., Bob studied at Pennsylvania State University and University of Pittsburgh. In 1959 he spent the year teaching in Israel at Hadassah Dental School. It was while he was in Israel that he met Shanti, a fashion columnist for the Jerusalem Post. A passionate and competitive sailor, Bob's compass was always set to home and family. A breeder of champion boxers, he was first and foremost a devoted husband and father, taking great pride and delight in Shanti and their daughters Michele and Leslie, relishing their family gatherings and the various accomplishments of his daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren. It was on the Vineyard that Bob was able to indulge in his various interests with passionate pursuit. An active member of Holmes Hole Racing Association he sailed a Tartan 31 named Music Street. He won the Moffett Cup, was twice named Best Sailor of the Year, and won 22 Holmes Hole racing cups. With equal dedication he was a member of the Rotary Club of Martha's Vineyard, served on the boards of the Martha's Vineyard Chamber Music Society and the Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center. He played violin with the Vineyard Sinfonietta and was a vocal member of the weekly discussion group at the Howes House. Three weeks before his death he was still delivering Meals on Wheels to Island residents. He will be remembered for his generosity of deed and spirit, his devotion to family, loyalty to friends and the character and integrity with which he contributed to the Island. A man who always knew how to make the best of rough seas as well as having reverence for smooth sailing, Bob set his goals and met them. The finish line (the inscription he chose for his headstone) was always crossed fairly and in good style. He is survived by his devoted wife Shanti, his loving children Michele Berlyne and her husband Rick Chisholm of Toronto, Canada; Leslie Blum Hecht and her husband Eric Hecht of Monmouth Hills, New Jersey; and his adoring grandchildren Timothy and Sarah Chisholm and Sidne and Mason Hecht. Funeral arrangements are under the care of Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown/Vineyard Haven Road, Oak Bluffs. The family requests all donations be made to Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, P.O. Box 2549, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557. Elinor C. Muller Elinor C. Muller of East Chop died April 30 at Martha's Vineyard Hospital. She was 86. She leaves behind several nieces and nephews and many friends. A memorial service will be held at a later date and a full obituary will appear at that time. Donations may be made in her memory to the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, P.O. Box 494, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 or to Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, P.O. Box 2549, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557. Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, Oak Bluffs.Elza Boass Elza Alise Olga (Dembergs) Boass, 95, a former longtime resident of Cedar Gardens in Natick, died April 15 at the Franklin Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Born in Mazirbe, Latvia on Jan. 5, 1910 on the family farm on the Baltic Sea, she was the daughter of Gothards and Izabella (Silberhand) Dembergs. She moved to the United States from Germany 55 years ago. She was employed as a domestic for many years in the house cleaning industry prior to her retirement. She was the former wife of Leohards Boass who died in 1987. She and her family left Latvia and escaped to Germany during World War II and in 1949 gained refugee in America and settled in Sherborn where she raised her daughter and son. Mrs. Boass leaves a daughter, Agna Boass of Chapel Hill, N.C.; a son, Andria Boass and his wife Susan of Hopkinton; four grandchildren including Erik Boass of Edgartown; and five great grandchildren. Funeral services will be private. Memorial donations may be made to the charity of one's choice. Arrangements by Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, North Attleboro.Henry A. Ropke Henry A. Ropke died April 26 at JFK Medical Center, Edison, N.J. He was 85. Born in New York City, he resided in East Orange, N.J., before moving to Avenel in Woodbridge Township 58 years ago. Mr. Ropke was employed as a test engineer with IT&T Corporation at their Avionics Division in Nutley, N.J., for 35 years before retiring in 1982. He was a United States Army veteran, serving during World War II and the Korean War as a master sergeant specializing in communications. During his time in service to his country he survived two plane crashes and several “ditchings” of aircraft. Mr. Ropke was a member of the First Baptist Church of Metuchen, and an avid woodworker and talented storyteller. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Dorothy Simpson Ropke; two sons, Eric and Sonya Ropke of Edgartown, and Peter and Lynn Ropke of Annandale, N.J.; and two beloved grandchildren, Melissa and Jonathan Ropke. Funeral and interment services were held on April 30 at Alpine Cemetery, Perth Amboy, N.J. Arrangements by Costello-Greiner Funeral Home, Woodbridge, N.J. |
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