Rose Ellen Cantor, longtime resident of Gulfport, Florida, passed away at the age of 87 on Monday, May 26, 2008.
Rose was a trailblazer as a career woman; she worked for the Sarah Coventry Jewelry Company as a district manager for the New England Territory, and was also a headhunter for the employment firm of Snellig and Snelling in Connecticut. After she retired, she enjoyed launching new products as a supermarket demonstrator.
Her mission in life was to unite and stand by her family. She was married for 65 years to William Abraham Cantor, who died on July 10, 2007. Rose was devoted to her identical twin sons, Philip and Franklin, and her youngest son, James, and she joyfully celebrated the lives of her nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Her family and friends will always remember her playful sense of humor. She would have appreciated leaving this life on Memorial Day, as she used to say on her way to the emergency room, “I’ll do anything to get attention.”
She will be cremated, in accordance with her wishes; but, “Please”, she told her family, “make sure I’m dead first…”
There will never be another Rose.
Arrangements entrusted to Veterans Funeral Care, 15381 Roosevelt Blvd., Clearwater, Florida 33760
My deep sympathy goes to Rose’s family. I met Rose years ago at the synagogue in Gulfport, FL when I was teaching Hebrew on Wednesday nights. She wanted to learn Hebrew so she could say the memorial prayer for her son. She tried to learn. We also talked about where we each had come from. As it happened, we had both come from West Hartford, CT. My sister graduated from Conard High in 1964 and her twins graduated in 1963. My sister, who now lives in Israel, did not remember the twins. Rose had wanted to know if she did. Rose had told me about some of the antics of the boys because people couldn’t tell them apart. Also about the time one of the boys ran for class office. My family moved across town so I graduated from Hall High in 1971. We didn’t belong to Rabbi Feldman’s temple, as Rose and her family did, but we had friends who did. It was always nice to reminisce with Rose, whether it was on the phone or by letter when she and her husband went to Connecticut in the summers. We also shared stories about our dogs. Outside the synagogue, we had lunch together and visited. Rose later helped in the kitchen at the synagogue in Gulfport and was proud that she learned how to “shmear” the cream cheese on the bagels. Rose also knew my mother from the Gulfport synagogue. Rose was a lot of fun and had a great sense of humor. Rose will be greatly missed.
We never knew Rose, but we have known, respected and loved her son Phil for some time. If he is any indication, she was a woman of great character and humility. We hope that there is a very special place for her self and her husband and that the rest of the family will be reunited with them when their time comes to leave this place as well. We are greatful and honored to have known her son.
Sincerely,
Russ and Virginia Allison