Lenore Aronson, aged 88, died December 4. Leni is survived by her husband of 66 years, Paul R. Aronson, and their children Lisa Newmann (Sandy Sanderson) of Stockbridge, Steffi Aronson Karp (Eric H. Karp) of Waban, Michael Aronson (Rebecca) of Amherst, and Nancy Aronson of Arlington. She is also survived by her sister Helene Rosenberg of Chicago, Illinois; grandchildren Joshua, Dan and Adam Karp, Jeremy, Allegra and Sage Aronson, Jeffrey and Lauren Sanderson, and Jill Sanderson; and great-grandchildren Henry, Leah and Reid. She was preceded in death by her brother H. Robert Halper.
Leni graduated summa cum laude from UMass Boston with a B.A., and received her M.A. there one year later. Gardening grounded her vivid impressions of the world around her. She had a lifelong passion for all things theatrical, musical and culinary. Her many interests included collecting data on the Renaissance and Baroque churches in Rome, cooking everything well and attending the Harvard Institute of Learning in Retirement.
Her first job was selling tickets in her father, Samuel Halper’s, movie theater on Maxwell Street in Chicago. In 1941, as an eighth-grader, she was among a group of 10 students who won the Lincoln Medallion, given by the Chicago Historical Society, for their essays on the definitions of democracy. Leni, with four other girls, became a bat mitzvah at Ashe Emet Synagogue in Chicago, the first group of b’not mitzvah in the U. S.
Leni Halper and Paul Aronson met in Chicago at the entrance to the Ambassador East hotel. She was wearing, as she remembered it, a white dress with navy polka dots and platform shoes. He was in town for a furniture show (and doesn’t remember which suit he wore, but remembers her smile). They married in the spring of 1951. From 1953 to 1961, Leni gave birth to four children, the first two on the same day three years apart. Leni and Paul enjoyed traveling internationally and loved entertaining.
Lenore will be missed. Her joy and energy were exceeded only by her insight and intellect and her ability to dissolve into laughter, contagiously, often at an embarrassing moment.
A graveside service will be held Thursday, Dec. 7, at 1:30 p.m. at the Stockbridge cemetery, 50 Main St., Stockbridge. Shiva will follow the funeral on Thursday until 9 p.m. at the family home, 20 East Street, Stockbridge, Mass., and on Friday from 1 to 4 p.m.  In Waban, Shiva will be held at the home of Steffi and Eric Karp, 458 Woodward St., Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday, 3 to 8 p.m..
In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to the Stanton Home, American Jewish Committee, and Shakespeare & Company.
