Asna Fisher Aronie died peacefully in her sleep on Nov. 13. She was 98.
Asna was born April 24, 1914 in Boston, the eldest daughter of Alice and Seymour Fisher, and sister to Bernice, Sarah and Ethel. She attended the Massachusetts Institute of Art, where she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in fine arts. She met and married the love of her life, Israel Hosea Aronie, who proposed to her on their first date, and they raised their family in Needham.
Among her many accomplishments, she worked as a graphic artist at the Court Square Press in Boston; ran a portrait business with her husband in the days of black and white photography, hand-painting portraits in color; helped establish and run the Lincoln Poultry Farm; worked with a Russian technical writer; was instrumental in the design of the John Elliot Elementary School in Needham; was a founder of Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, which began in their basement; worked in partnership with her husband renovating the apartment buildings they owned and operated in Dorchester and Roxbury; worked at Newton-Wellesley Hospital as a graphic artist in the public relations department; was a talented ballroom dancer; designed and made her own clothes; and was a professional calligrapher.
In their eighties Asna and Israel spent many years snow-birding between Hollywood, Fla. and Concord at their beloved White Pond home. Asna was an elegant and graceful woman.
She is survived by her two sisters, Sarah Braveman and Bernice Goldman; her four sons, Joel, Steven , Alan and Martin Aronie; daughters in law Nancy Slonim Aronie, Rose Aronie and, in memoriam, Linda Aronie; grandchildren Josh and his wife, Angela, Aprill, Shaunan, Jason, Sarah, Elka and, in memoriam, Daniel. She delighted in her great-grandson, Eli Aronie. She was a frequent visitor to the Island where she stayed with Nancy and Joel of Chilmark.
A memorial celebration will be held June 22, 2013 at her White Pond home.
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