OBITUARIES

Milton and Charles Kaufman. Contributions may be made to the Trudeau Center at 3445 Post Road, Warwick, RI 02886 or by visiting https://trudeaucenter.org/donate/.

Mary Ellen Kitzes, 76 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Mary Ellen Kitzes, of Providence, passed away on June 5, 2023, at her residence. She was the wife of Dr. David L. Kitzes. Their three children, Sydney, Benjamin and Madeline, were extremely privileged to grow up under her wing.

Born in Scottsburg, Indiana, to Robert and Elizabeth (Gardner) Richey, she was the elder sister to two siblings, Linda and Bryan.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Indiana University, she worked as an RN at the VA Hospital in Indianapolis. This is where she met the cardiology fellow who would live by her side for 56 years.

After moving to Providence, she fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming an architect when she earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and a master’s degree in architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her love of art, architecture and history of same is something that she shared passionately with her children when carting them from museum to museum at various locations around the world.

As a member and former co-president of The Miriam Hospital Women’s Association, she stayed involved with the hospital for many years and received an honor for her distinguished service. An avid golfer, Mary was also a member of the Hole in One club.

Mary enriched the lives of everyone she met and was widely loved and appreciated for her generous and caring spirit, her wit and her open heart. She is survived by her family and friends who will carry her legacy for all their lives.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284-9168

George Landow, 82 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – George Paul Landow, of Providence, passed away at home on May 31, 2023.

Busy and productive well into his final weeks, in his final year he achieved 57 years of marriage and 78 years of friendship with Ruth and first-class brown belts in Shotokan karate with Ruth – and was also recognized as Master Model Railroader #737 by Little Rhody, his local NMRA division.

Born in White Plains, New York, to H. I. “Doc” and Lillian Landow, his earliest years were spent with relatives in the Bronx due to the untimely death of his mother and his father’s service in World War II. After the war, his father married Florence (Strasmich), and the family moved to Dover Plains when Prof. Landow was 10. At 14, he attended Wooster School, in Connecticut, and was matriculated at Princeton University as a pre-med at age 16.

Although he gained admission to medical school, he deferred entry in order take a Woodrow Wilson Foundation Fellowship in English Literature at Brandeis; there he earned his first MA in English. The following year, he earned his second master’s at the University of London and then returned to Princeton for his Ph.D. His dissertation on Ruskin became a prize-winning book. He authored multiple books and articles on Victorian literature and art, and computing in the humanities, and enjoyed seeing several works translated into Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Arabic. His academic honors included a graduate student Fulbright, two Guggenheims, two senior Fulbrights and a fellowship at Cornell’s Society for the Humanities.

He taught at Columbia, the University of Chicago, Brasenose College, Oxford and Brown University in English and Art History departments. He served Brown for three years as chairman of the faculty. From 2000 through 2002, he was the founding dean of the University Scholars Program at the National University of Singapore, after having been hired as a distinguished visiting professor.

While his children were young, he enjoyed photography, model making and coaching his childrens’ baseball and soccer teams. After his retirement in 2012, he enjoyed spending time with his children and grandsons, watching Princeton lacrosse and sharing watching the Patriots with an old classmate of Ruth’s. He also did considerable world traveling while giving lectures before the pandemic. As Editorin-Chief, he enormously expanded the world-renowned Victorian Web, establishing a foundation and editorial board to ensure it would continue without him. He is survived by his wife, Ruth (Macktez); his daughter, Shoshana, of Barrington; and his son, Noah, of New York; his son-in-law. Ethan Stein. and daughter-in-law. CJ (Brody); his grandsons, Philip and Malcolm Stein; and sister, Marcia Silverstein, of Bangor, Maine.

Donations may be made to the 501(c)(3) Victorian Web Foundation at victorianweb. org.

Sylvia Morse, 91 BOYNTON BEACH, FLA.

– Sylvia (Rifkin) Gratt Morse of Hunters Run in Boynton Beach, Florida, and formerly of Cranston, passed away on June 6, 2023, at her residence. She was the wife of the late Herbert Gratt and the late Stanley “Babe” Morse. Born in Providence, a daughter of the late Benjamin and Lillian (Langleber) Rifkin, she had lived in Rhode Island most of her life before moving to Florida 35 years ago.

Sylvia worked in her family’s furniture store (Liberty Furniture, in East Providence) for many years, and owned and operated Kingstown Furniture, in North Kingstown, with her husband, Herbert Gratt, before retiring.

Survivors include her three children, Linda Gratt, of Massachusetts; Marshall Gratt, of Warwick; and Cindy Teverow and her husband, Joshua, of Palm Beach, Florida, and Narragansett; her daughterin-law Stephanie Gratt of Exeter; five grandchildren, Evan DiZoglio and his wife, Brianna; Jesse DiZoglio and his wife, Alexandra; Chelsea Gratt; A.J. Gratt and Jamie Souza; six great-grandsons, David, Nathan, Elijah, Isaiah, Leo and Raffi; two stepchildren, Deborah Rosen and Paul Morse; seven step-grandchildren, Justin Rosen, Erica Lazarus, Miles

Morse, Nicole Morse, Jason Morse, Benjamin Morse and Jessica Johnson; and several step-great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews. She was the sister of the late Simon Rifkin and Hilton Rifkin, and the stepmother of the late Larry Morse.

She was an avid golfer and a member of Hunters Run Country Club, in Boynton Beach; a former member of Ledgemont Country Club; a charter-member of Quidnessett Country Club and a former member of Crestwood Country Club. She was a former member of Temple Sinai, in Cranston, and of Hadassah. Sylvia was an accomplished bridge player and canasta player all her life. Memorial contributions may be made to Temple Sinai, 30 Hagan Ave., Cranston, RI 02920.

Sydelle Rozbruch, 90 WARWICK, R.I. – Sydelle

Elaine Rozbruch passed peacefully away on June 28, 2023, at HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence. She was the beloved wife of the late Martin Rozbruch whom she met at a dance in the Catskill Mountains in New York. Born in Manhat- tan, New York, daughter of Max and Mollie Fruchter, she had lived in Cranston since 1985, living previously in California, New York and Florida.

Sydelle and her late husband, Martin, owned the Pine Lodge Hotel in Monticello, New York, and worked as office manager and bookkeeper as well as owned the Party Girl Gift and Card store in Woodland Hills, California. She loved Yiddish and creative writing classes that she took at the JCC and would frequently volunteer reading to students in local elementary schools.

Sydelle was the adored and cherished mother of Michael Rozbruch and his wife, Roslyn; Mynde Rozbruch Siperstein of Warwick and her husband, Gary; and Neil Rozbruch and his wife, Susie. She was proudest of her loving grandchildren, Jason Siperstein and his wife Dr. Dana Siperstein, Carly Harary and her husband Ralph, Erica Rozbruch Rozmid, Ph.D. and her husband, Ramsey, Danielle Rozbruch, Diego Rozbruch, Noemi Rozbruch and precious great-grandchildren Lily, Ely, Ariana and Emma. Sydelle was most proud of being a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She called her children and grandchildren daily, inquir-