Sylvia Harnett Obituary (1914 - 2009)

Dr.Sylvia Rubinger Harnett passed away of natural causes on February 1, 2009 at Wesley Ridge Retirement Community in Reynoldsburg , OH. She was 94. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1914, the eldest of two daughters of Maurice and Anna Rubinger. She married Bernard “Bunce” Harnett, in 1935. They raised two children, Joan Judith Harnett and Jeffrey H. Harnett, who were the focus of their pride and love. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from Brooklyn College in 1954 and her Master of Arts degree from the same institution ten years later. She then earned her Doctorate of Education degree from Columbia University in 1968. After moving to Massapequa, Long Island in September of 1954, Sylvia taught developmentally handicapped children in the Plainedge School System. After receiving her doctorate she was a guidance counselor at Plainedge High School until she retired in 1975. She and Bunce maintained their home in Massapequa, where she enjoyed walking along the boardwalk at Jones Beach and demonstrating her superior skills at local Scrabble club meetings and competitions, until 1999, when she and her husband moved to Reynoldsburg, Ohio. She is survived by her two children, Joan Harnett Tallan (Norman), and Dr. Jeffrey Harnett (Barbara), and six grandsons, Mitchell, Eric, and Mark Tallan and Michael, Matthew, and Andrew Harnett, and seven great-grandchildren. She is pre-deceased by her husband Bunce, her sister Constance Skor, her brother-in-law Benjamin Skor, and her grandson Daniel Tallan. Funeral services will be held at Mt. Ararat Cemetery in Farmingdale , New York on Thursday, February 5th at 11:00 am.