Janet Hurwitz
Janet (Marks) Hurwitz, 94, passed away peacefully at her home in Arlington, Mass. on May 28, 2025.
She is predeceased by her husband, Leslie Hurwitz, formerly of Arlington, Mass.; parents, William and Libby Marks, formerly of Henrietta, N.Y., and brother, Jerome, formerly, of Brighton, N.Y. She is survived by sons Eric and his wife Joan (Kerrigan), of Walpole, Mass., and Marc, of Arlington, Mass.; grandchildren, Emily, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Katie, of Walpole, Mass.; and brother Robert Marks, of Rochester, N.Y.
Janet was born on Jan. 22, 1931 in Rochester, N.Y. She grew up on Laburnam Crescent, a close-knit, working-class neighborhood in the city. There, she met her husband to be, Leslie, a neighbor on the same street, and married at 19-years old. After high school, Janet attended the Rochester Museum Art School, Buffalo State Teacher’s College, and Albright Art School (now the Buffalo AKG Art Museum) in Buffalo, N.Y. to develop her God-given gift as an extraordinary artist.
Leslie and Janet eventually moved to the Boston area where Leslie fostered an accomplished music and teaching career, while Janet truly blossomed as an artist (known as Jan Hur) specializing in whimsical masterpieces of people, places and things. She had won many juried awards and top popular vote awards and has had three one-woman exhibits in various galleries. She also participated in invitationals and exhibits, including the deCordova Art Museum Two Day Art Fair and deCordova Show House Exhibits, as well as art festivals throughout New England. She earned the Eli Goldstone Award at the Cambridge Art Association Annual Show, and a Purchase Prize in the Portland, Maine Art Festival Winner’s Circle.
She also worked many years in publishing at D.C. Heath in Lexington, Mass., an American publishing company specializing in textbooks.
Janet, also lovingly known as “Nana” to her grandchildren, enjoyed many aspects of life, with a particular affinity for family time together, local travel, dining out, gardening and wearing colorful clothing (surely reflecting her style of art). She loved vacations in Old Forge, N.Y. (in the Adirondack Mountains), Stowe, Vt., Northeast Harbor, Maine and day trips to Cape Cod.
Jan frequently enthused about local restaurants like Prince Pizzeria in Saugus, Mass., the 1761 Old Mill in Westminster, Mass., and New London Pizza in Concord, Mass.
What Janet enthused most about, however, centered on the presence of loving family members. She was also a true cheerleader to Emily and Katie’s meaningful achievements in academics and music. She passed away the morning of Katie’s graduation ceremonies at Harvard University in Cambridge, but her genuine spirit could be felt throughout the day, and shall be forever to all who had the pleasure of knowing her.
A memorial gathering for family and friends will be held at a future date.