A bright, new star is shining in the cosmos as we mourn the loss of Anita Mae Schonfeld who died on January 15, 2019 at the age of 92 ½. Anita faced her death with courage and dignity, while managing to get a smile from the many friends and family who were at her side when she passed away.
Anita was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on August 25, 1926 to Leon and Ester Pastor. Her beloved husband Murry, passed away at the age of 93 three years ago. She is survived by her daughters, Debra Korngut of Dallas, Texas and Bettina Simon of Newport Beach, California and their husbands, Dr. Irwin Korngut and Robert M. Henry. She is also survived by her six grandchildren Alex, Bryan and Kevin Korngut and his wife, Juliet of Portland, Oregon; Adam Solomon and his wife Emily, Chloe and Austin Schonfeld. In addition to her brother Dr. Stan Pastor of Sarasota, Florida and his wife Stephanie, Anita’s niece Robin Kahn of Atlanta, Georgia and nephew Andrew Pastor of Austin Texas, their spouses and children also survived her.
Anita had a flair for the dramatic, and at age 15, she left home to attend the University of Denver to study drama. She transferred to Ohio State University where she signed up for a genetics class that would change her life forever. The graduate teaching assistant for the class was a tall, handsome New Yorker named Murry Schonfeld. After their first date at the soda fountain in the nearby drugstore, Anita and Murry fell in love. Two years after the fateful first date, they were married in the hall of mirrors in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Murry was accepted into Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine simultaneously. He obtained double degrees from Harvard with high honors. Anita was pregnant with their first child at graduation and was born in Boston on August 2, 1949. Murry accepted a residency in Ohio where their second daughter, Debra Ann was born. When Uncle Sam called during the Korean War, Murry and his family were sent to Carswell Airforce Base in Ft. Worth, Texas. Captain Schonfeld oversaw all surgical and medical specialties on the base even though he had just completed his residency 6 months earlier. On the weekends, Murry and Anita would drive into the “big city”-Dallas, where they ultimately settled and their third child, Alan Douglas was born.
Anita and Murry loved traveling and took their children with them on vacations to the Caribbean in the winter, and to Europe in the summer. Once the entire family and their cook, Birdie, spent a summer in Forte de Marmi, Italy where Andrea Bocelli now lives. In the late sixties, it was a small beach town, and the family used it as a base to travel around Italy. They climbed the tower of Pisa and had a rosary for a friend blessed by Pope John Paul. They bicycled after dinner to get gelato in the small village. Theirs was a charmed life.
Anita and Murry spent their honeymoon European cruise for a month. They continued to cruise throughout their lives, making lifelong friendships along the way. They built their dream house where Anita’s talent for design lead them on buying trips for authentic materials. They went into the marble pits in Carrera, Italy to select the white marble for their new home. Anita selected materials that had never been used before-from iridescent Mosaic tiles, back-lit onyx counters, hand carved woodwork and chandeliers whose crystals were handpicked by Anita in Venice, resulting in one of the most beautiful homes in the city. They loved to entertain, but their dinner parties were most often for the family. Anita’s Interior Design business, Accent by Anita, filled her spare time; but with family as the priority, they sat down together every night with conversation.
Anita was one-of-a-kind, she was an absolute original: gracious, elegant, witty and kind all rolled up into a beautiful women with luminous porcelain skin. She sass and class. She attracted all kinds of people into her life because she listened instead of talked. She valued live, goodness, generosity and sharing. Anita will be remembered with love and affection by those who knew and loved her. She will be greatly missed, but not forgotten. We are all better people for having known her.
All of who knew Anita knew for a fact that she was one of a kind. She possessed a kind and gentle heart; she wanted to help everyone she met; she wanted to make the world a more beautiful place: She wanted to make people laugh; and most of all, She wanted to be reunited with her husband Murry. As with everything that Anita did, she accomplished her goals and more.
We want to thank you for opening your hearts to Anita; for giving your time, your affection and your attention. Everyone of you meant very much to her. Before she passed, after seeing so many of you by her bedside, she smiled and said in a voice full of surprise and wonderment: “ I REALLY DID MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD, DIDN’T I?”, she never said another word…
Please also see Murry David Schonfeld, 1924-2016
With love and gratitude,
Bettina, Debra and Alan
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