Muriel Richman

Muriel Richman, 83, died on Friday, August 21, in Worcester. She is survived by: her son, Mark Richman and daughter-in-law, Laura Porter, of Worcester; her daughter, Linda Richman and son-in-law, Art Porton, of Glen Ellyn, Illinois; her four grandchildren, Max and Zoe Richman and Adam and Allison Porton; four nieces and a nephew. Her husband, Ernest Richman, died in 1982. Muriel was born on May 4, 1932 in the Bronx, New York, the daughter of Nettie Riznitsky Blachman and Paul Blachman. A younger brother, Karl, died in his late teens. Muriel graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School and married when she was 18. She and Ernie raised their two children in the Bronx, first on Valentine Avenue off the Grand Concourse and then after 1970 in the first building constructed in Co-op City. She worked throughout her life, first in the library at P.S. 85 when her son started school and then as an office manager for two accounting firms in Manhattan until she retired in her mid-60s. Muriel cherished her family, New York City and Broadway theater. Widowed at 50, she reinvented her life, moving to an apartment she loved on the Upper East Side and attending plays and concerts as often as she could. When each of her grandchildren was born, she visited them once a month until their first birthdays so she could be there for every milestone. For the next twenty years, she was on a plane to Illinois or a bus to Worcester as frequently as possible. She never missed a grandchild's birthday, Thanksgiving, Rosh Hashanah, Passover seder or family vacation, and she loved nothing more than when all nine members of the family were together, preferably at a Chinese restaurant. The family would like to thank the staff of Tatnuck Park Assisted Living in Worcester for helping to take such good care of Muriel since she moved to Worcester four and a half years ago, as well as both Optum Hospice and LifeSource Hospice for their special efforts over the past six months. A private family service took place on August 25 at Cedar Park Cemetery in Paramus, New Jersey, officiated by Rabbi Jordan Millstein of Temple Sinai of Bergen County, Tenafly. Mercadante Funeral Home & Chapel, 370 Plantation St is honored to be handling arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, . 128 Providence St #5, Worcester, MA 01604, www.alz.org/donate. There will be no memorial observance.