Edith Taskin, 98

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. —  Edith Stoskin Taskin, 98, died peacefully on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, at her home of more than 70 years on Chestnut Street.

She was born in Great Barrington on July 4, 1923, a daughter of Morris and Lillian Schoenhaus Stoskin. She grew up on a number of farms located in Central and Southern Berkshire. She began her education at the Dewey Elementary School in Great Barrington and graduated from Lenox High School with the class of 1941. She often wondered if she was the last surviving member of her class.

Edith also attended secretarial school and worked as a legal secretary for three different Pittsfield attorneys, including future Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Francis J. Quirico, all of whom either enlisted or were drafted during World War II. In her later years, Edith owned and operated her own business, Berkshire Market Research.

Edie was a member of Congregation Beth Israel in North Adams. She served in numerous synagogue and civic organizations and was a founding member of the North Adams League of Women Voters in 1963. She was an original donor to Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, active in the PTA at the former Mark Hopkins School, and a lifelong supporter of the North Adams Public Library. She loved to travel, paid close attention to current events, and had many adventures with her good friend, Audrey Dearing Sweeney. She also enjoyed playing bridge with her group of more than 50 years. Edith was also fortunate to enjoy many winters in Century Village in Boca Raton, Fla. She was diagnosed as legally blind in one eye at a very early age, something even many of her best friends was not aware of, and it did not prevent her from doing the things she enjoyed in life.

She was the widow of Albert Taskin, who died on Aug. 18, 1987. They were married on March 20, 1949.

Survivors include two sons, Richard S. Taskin of North Adams and Howard E. (Jenny) Taskin of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; three grandchildren, Rebecca Taskin of New York City,  Anna Lee Pollick and her husband, Zachary Pollick, of West Palm Beach, Fla., and Nathan Taskin of South Hadley; two great-grandchildren, Wade and Kenny Pollick also of West Palm Beach; and one niece, Barbara Gershen Swartz of Newton her husband, Bruce, and their three children.

She was predeceased by her two younger sisters, Laura Stoskin and Vera Gangel.

FUNERAL NOTICE: The funeral for Edith Taskin will be Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, at 1 p.m. at Congregation Beth Israel, 53 Lois St., North Adams. Burial will follow in Beth Israel cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Friends of the North Adams Public Library in care of FLYNN & DAGNOLI-MONTAGNA HOME FOR FUNERALS, CENTRAL CHAPELS, 74 Marshall St. North Adams, MA 01247. To add to the Book of Memories, please visit www.flynndagnolifuneralhomes.com.