Rosaline Tafler
“Brightness Always Comes Our Way”
In Loving Memory of Rosaline Tafler
Born: October 7, 1923, Montreal, Quebec
Deceased: November 10, 2020, Montreal, Quebec
Rosaline Tafler passed away peacefully, in her sleep, attended by loved ones and caring staff at the Donald Berman Maimonides Geriatric Center in Côte Saint-Luc. She was pre-deceased by her parents Annie and Myer Tafler, by her siblings Saidye Tafler, Sydney Tafler, and Belle Gold, by her husband Julius Marinoff, and by her sons Sidney Marinoff and Peter Marinoff. She is survived by her son Louis Marinoff, by her daughters-in-law Gail Richardson and Phyllis Marinoff, by her grandchildren Julian Marinoff, James Marinoff, Sarah Marinoff, and Alec Richardson, by her niece Lois Schechter, by her great nephew Sammy Steinberg and great niece Jennifer Steinberg, by members of her extended family including Ashley Perrault and Paul Demers, and by many cousins of the extended Tafler family.
Beyond being a dutiful daughter, a loving wife, mother, and grandmother, and a beloved matriarch affectionately known as “Grandma Roz,” Rosaline was perhaps best-known for her ready wit, irreverent humor, and collected poetry. Roz wrote her first poem in 1931, at age eight, and never looked back. In the 1940s she joined the American League of Poets, and became a Canadian correspondent for the Poetic Outlook magazine. In the ensuing decades, she published poems and letters to the editor in numerous newspapers and magazines. Roz married Julius Marinoff in 1950, and became a happy mother and homemaker. Her apple-cherry pies and chocolate cakes were prized by all fortunate enough to sample them. She enjoyed family trips to Ste Agathe during winters, Cape Cod during summers, and New York City at all seasons. She loved Broadway shows and musical movies of all kinds. She was also an avid dancer, from classic ballroom styles to tango, rumba and salsa.
Following Julius’s premature death in 1967, Roz worked for various firms as a skilled book-keeper and breadwinner. She retired in 1983, at the ripe age of eighty, then took up tournament bridge with her sister-in-law, the late Rose Hockenstein. Card sharps Roz and Rose soon became Lifetime Masters of duplicate bridge. Roz always remained close to her first love: the English language. A relentless wordsmith, Scrabble maven and crossword solver, she wrote poems during every passing decade. In 2018, at age ninety-five, she launched a volume of her poetry, compiled by her grandson Julian and published by her son Louis. Entitled Vice-Versa: Collected and Neglected Poems, it’s a lasting celebration of her creativity and legacy. Roz gave gifts of smiles, humor and laughter to all who encountered her. She brought rays of light into many lives and will always be remembered with love. Let her memory be honored with the closing lines of her very first poem, written as a child:
“Therefore, be it night or day,
Brightness always comes our way.”
True to her words, Rosaline Tafler brought everlasting brightness everyone’s way. Her family expresses its profound thanks to the many wonderful caregivers at the Donald Berman Maimonides Geriatric Center. A private graveside service will be held on Friday November 13, 2020. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to the Donald Berman Maimonides Geriatric Center, (514) 483-2121, ext. 2207, or to any preferred charity. Arrangements entrusted to Paperman & Sons.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Rosaline Tafler 2020..
Death notice for the town of: Montreal, Province: Quebec