Lillian Uttal Chesanow

12/27/2006

Lillian Uttal Chesanow, 102, formerly of Taconic Avenue, died yesterday in Sacramento, Calif., of complications arising from Alzheimer's disease. Born Oct. 27, 1904, in Newark, N.J., he was the daughter of Sol and Rose Yuttal Uttal. By the time Lillian was 5, she and her family settled in Brooklyn, N.Y., where she lived until her marriage. She attended local schools, including a small Hebrew school. Lillian was employed as a secretary for businesses in Manhattan, finally becoming the head of the bookkeeping department of one of the large banks there. She married Dr. Albert Chesanow in 1930 and moved to Kearny, N.J.. In 1935, the couple moved to Great Barrington, where Dr. Chesanow established a private medical practice. Lillian lived there until 1996, when, at the age of 92, she moved to Elk Grove, Calif., to live with her son and daughter-in-law, Daniel and Sheila Silvus Chesanow, who now live in Tennessee. Mrs. Chesanow was active in the local and county chapters of Hadassah. She was a regular attendee of services and events at Ahavath Sholom synagogue, and served as a member and officer of the Order of the Eastern Star. During World War II, she had a victory garden, learned to can food, make preserves and won ribbons at the Great Barrington Fair. She could sew and knit, and won ribbons for this work as well. She served as a volunteer for more than a decade at the Mason Library in Great Barrington. Later in life, she took up needlework. Her husband of 50 years is deceased. Besides her son and daughter-in-law, now of Athens, Tenn., she leaves another son, Dr. Robert Chesanow of Cheshire, Conn.; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. FUNERAL NOTICE -- Local funeral arrangements for Lillian Uttal Chesanow, who died Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2006, are being handled by Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home. The service dates and times will be announced at a later date. As a memorial, contributions may be sent to the Mason Library through the funeral home, 426 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230. Remembrances, memories and reflections may be sent to the family through www.finnertyandstevens.com. She also leaves a daughter-in-law, Jeann; grandchildren, Linda Rose, Marc, Loren and wife Sari, Andrei and Matthew Chesanow and wife Dawn; a former daughter-in-law, Kathy; great-grandchildren, Carson, Caleb, Aiden and Maddelyn Chesanow; and dozens and dozens of Uttal cousins. She was predeceased by her brother, Benjamin Uttal, and sister, Diana Uttal Ruiz. Approaching and passing age 90, she would travel to needlework conventions to improve her skills and art. Her great joy was in travel. She often said: "There is a difference between a traveler and a tourist. I am a traveler." She is and will be the source of wonderful stories told by the hundreds who met her over the past century. She had the memory of a first-rate research librarian. She corresponded with friends both here and abroad, typing her letters on a vintage Smith Corona portable. A firm believer in correspondence, she would write to anybody about anything which piqued her interest. Both the humble and the famous answered her letters.

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