OUR CONNECTION WAS CHUDNOV - EDWARD WOROBEY (July 12. 1934 - JULY 31, 2022)
By now, everyone knows I believe that everyone deserves a legacy. On that note, I never want to forget our friend Ed and, therefore, when I found his obituary online, we sent a contribution where requested, and I wrote a letter of explanation to send with it:
“January 9, 2023
Ahavath Torah Congregation 1179 Central Street Stoughton, Massachusetts 02072
Dear Ahavath Torah Family,
The enclosed check is in memory of our friend and my fellow Chudnover, Edward Worobey. Ed first found me about 20+ years ago after contacting my cousin Harry Langsam in Los Angeles when he went online and found works that Harry had written about his wife’s ancestry in Chudnov, Ukraine [see Harry’s Story, Parts I - IV, dated April 4-7, 2023, at sharonmarkcohen.com]. Harry suggested Ed call me and from that day we became fast friends, researching our family histories and encouraging one another in our efforts to find living relatives. It wasn’t long before my husband [Arnee] was on the line speaking sports with Ed.
Sadly, I went online when thinking about Ed, not having heard from him in quite some time, which is when his obituary appeared. Our deepest sympathies to Ed’s family and friends at Congregation Ahavath Torah.
For anyone who would like to learn more about Chudnov, Ukraine, then and now, I have posted an 18-part blog post series at sharonmarkcohen.com, which ran from March 22, 2022, Our Cousins, Our Heroes - August 16, 2022, Where’s Chudnov? (a few unrelated blog posts were added sporadically in between). In my July 12, 2022 blog post entitled My Grandmother’s Stepsibling in Photos, you’ll see an interesting mention of Ed and the way he found relatives living across the world.
Sincerely,
Sharon and Arnee Cohen”
Obituary: “Edward ‘Ed’ Worobey of Canton, MA formerly of Sharon, MA passed away peacefully in his home, surrounded by his family, on July 31, 2022 at the age of 88.
“Ed was the beloved husband of Libbie Worobey for 64 years. Devoted father of Jerry & Mary Worobey of Florida, Brian Worobey of Carlisle, and Cindy & Stu Weiner of Stoughton. Loving younger brother to Al Worobey who predeceased him. Cherished grandfather to Courtney & Rachel Weiner, and Wren & Kai Worobey. Born during the summer of 1934 to Hyman and Clara Worobey, Ed grew up in Dorchester. He earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Northeastern University. He was an accomplished electrical engineer for 35 years at GTE, Government Systems with Secure Communications, achieving various distinguished awards in his tenure. At his retirement party in 1993, he received a letter from the Deputy Director of the National Security Agency thanking him for his service throughout the years.
“Ed enjoyed telling stories of his childhood, researching our family history, and connecting with his many friends. He will be remembered for his humor, wisdom, caring nature, and most importantly love for others.
“Services will be held at Stanetsky Memorial Chapel, 475 Washington Street, Canton on Wednesday, August 3 at 12:00 pm. Interment at Sharon Memorial Park. Condolence calls may be made following interment at Orchard Cove, One Del Pond Drive, Canton on Wednesday as well as at Orchard Cove on Thursday between 2:00 to 4:30 pm or 6:00 to 8:00 pm and Friday between 2:00 to 4:00 pm. Calls may also be made Sunday between 1:00 to 4:00 pm at the Weiner Residence.
“In lieu of flowers the family would prefer donations be made to Ahavath Torah Congregation of Stoughton.”
After seeing Ed’s obituary, I pulled up some old emails we shared and felt the warmth of his friendship and our mutual love of family. Ed always had positive comments about Arnee’s radio show, listened to all my genealogy presentations over the years on The World of Work at www.wdvrfm.org Fridays at 4 pm EST and he never forgot my suggestions and encouragement for him to find his living relatives across the world.
As an example, I found one email I sent to Ed, and his reply:
Sharon Cohen <sharon.mark.cohen@gmail.com>
Jul 13, 2017, 1:54 PM
Hi Ed,
Hope all is well with you and the family.
I wanted to update you on my book. I met with my agent on Monday with what was hopefully the last draft before he brings it to publishers. I never expected such a process. But, I've been working on it for eight years now. My plan is to have my brother Stuart finish reading this version in the next couple of weeks so that I can give it to the agent by Aug. 10 when we drive out to Cleveland for the bridal shower for our future daughter-in-law. We were in St. Louis in early July for the first bridal shower at her grandparents' home in Clayton-her grandfather got us tickets to a Cardinals' game four seats in back of the dugout! Our eldest, Judd, graduated Law school magna cum laude at Case Western Reserve in May and is taking the bar in two weeks. Our daughter Rina is serious with her NJ boyfriend where they both live out in L.A. Our youngest, Moss is working full-time as a social media production assistant at CNNMoney and now has his master’s degree from NYU Tisch in Cinema Studies. This week is Arnee's 20th anniversary on the radio! Try and tune in tomorrow at 4p. at www.wdvrfm.org to hear the anniversary show!
Best,
Sharon
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Ed Worobey <edworobey@comcast.net>
Jul 16, 2017, 8:11 PM
Hi Sharon,
It was so nice hearing from you and getting an update on the wonderful accomplishments of your children. Congratulations to Arnee on his 20th-anniversary show. I did get to listen to the last 20 minutes of the show and heard the commentary by Moss.
Libbie and I are doing okay. Our eldest granddaughter graduated with honors from high school and will be attending Elon University in September. Her goal is to become a journalist. She interned with the local newspaper during the past year. Our 16-year-old granddaughter is in Israel this summer as part of a camp program that she is involved with.
We are still in regular communication with the family we found (with your help) in Australia.
Glad things are moving along with your book - a lot of work but I am sure it is well worth all the effort. Please keep me updated on the publication.
Best wishes to you, Arnee and the family!
Libbie and Ed
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Ed started a garden at his synagogue in Massachusetts in memory of the martyrs of Chudnov, and Rina, my daughter, donated a bench at the time of her bat mitzvah in 2003 at our synagogue in memory of our ancestors from Chudnov.
For Ed and me, our connection was Chudnov, and our connector was Harry Langsam. Read my four-part blog post series, Harry’s Story, dated April 4-7, 2023, and look for more of Harry’s stories online.