Rose Eisman Boyarsky passed away peacefully at The Forest at Duke (TFAD), in Durham, NC, where she had lived for the last 12 years. She was born March 16, 1924, in Jersey City, NJ, the daughter of Isadore Eisman and Clara (Klingenstein) Eisman. Rose was predeceased by her husband of 73 years, Saul Boyarsky, and her younger sister, Helene Mildred Eisman Bloomenthal.

Surviving are her son, Myer William Boyarsky and his wife, Betty Jean (Spinelli) Boyarsky of Hillsborough, NC, daughters, Terry Linda Boyarsky of Cleveland, OH, and Hannah Gail Boyarsky and her husband, Walter Fowler of Chapel Hill, NC; three grandchildren, Samuel David Boyarsky, Vera Clare Alcorn, and Sarah Isadora Fowler and her husband, Douglas Boemker; and one great-grandchild, Wyatt Earle Boemker; and her beloved cat, Snooky.

Rose was the first in her family to attend college, the University of Vermont. There she met Saul as an undergraduate (He was valedictorian, she salutatorian, and both in Phi Beta Kappa). As WWII broke out, she was recruited to the war effort (at age 18) and taught physics to Air Cadets, some of them barely older than she was. After graduation, she went on to earn a master’s degree in chemistry from Columbia University, then accompanied Saul on his deployment to Germany, where Terry was born.

The family moved (the first time) to Durham in 1950 where Saul begin his residency at Duke, and Gail was born. Rose settled into the role of a stay at home mother, which included starting a nursery school. Two moves later, the family settled in New Rochelle, NY, in 1957, where Rose increased her involvement with multiple activities: volunteered for the PTA, Boy Scout den mother, worked with the League of Women Voters, took classes, was a census taker, joined book clubs, and was active in Temple Israel. She won numerous accolades for her projects and community service.

Moving (the second time) to Durham in 1963, Rose not only had three kids at home but also took in her mother and in-laws for the rest of their lives. She and Saul were among the first members of Judea Reform congregation, then meeting in borrowed spaces. She helped acquire the land on which the congregation now sits.

As her children left for college, Rose enrolled at Duke and earned a PhD in clinical psychology. In 1970, Rose and Saul moved to St. Louis and she began her rich and colorful career as a clinical psychologist. After working with Masters and Johnson for 4 years, she opened a private practice, became president of the Missouri Psychological Association, published numerous articles, lectured widely, and had her own call-in radio program, “Ask Dr. Rose.” It was at the radio station that she met and developed a life-long friendship with pioneer broadcaster, Anne Keefe. During those years, she found the time to become a Master Gardener, and was an awarded volunteer for work restoring part of the neighboring Forest Park. She liked to say that she was turning into a plant doctor instead of a head doctor.

Returning to Durham (the third time) in 1999 Rose built a house next to the Duke Forest, and designed a magnificent garden. She acquired the NC Master Gardener certification, and started a 20 year volunteer association with the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, acting (among other roles) as a plant disease diagnostician. This ended only because of the pandemic. As her grandchildren grew, she felt the need to convey family history to them, and became a genealogist. This effort was jump started with the purchase of a yearlong unlimited trip plane ticket within the US, which she used to visit with as many relatives as she could find. These efforts greatly extended the family’s knowledge of itself and provided the foundation for the publication of 10 family genealogy books and 13 bi-annual family reunions, all of which drew a world-wide dispersed family closer.

Rose had an adventurous spirit and loved to travel. Much travel was alongside Saul as his career took him around the world. But she also traveled extensively with her friend, Anne Keefe, including annual trips to London for the theater. Over the years, she participated in five book clubs, held season tickets to the NC Ballet and most of the local theater companies.

Rose always had a magnificent garden, maintained a beautiful artistic harmonious home, and welcomed strangers. Her love of nature and natural phenomena was conveyed to her children by activities as diverse as awakening young children at 2 AM to watch sputnik fly over, sit (quiet, please) by a beaver pond, exploring tide pools, picking wild berries, or sharing our home with pets ranging from cats and ‘the Easter Bunny’ to snakes and iguanas.

Rose was sensible, practical, efficient, curious, and forever guiding. Her many aphorisms were one of her tools: “If wishes were horses than beggars would ride” or “Even a fish wouldn’t get caught if he had kept his mouth shut.”

Rose was adept at many crafts, including creating beaded flower bouquets, and needlepoint items. When she moved into TFAD retirement community, Rose took ceramic and exercise classes, swam several times a week, volunteered in the rose garden and the greenhouse, led a play reading group with public performances, oversaw the in-house movie night for the residents, and took advantage of the many overnight field trips that TFAD had to offer. She was a valued member of her bridge group and sat on many committees concerning the community. As a team player on the seated volleyball court she was known as “Rocket Rose.”

Rose was a lover of poetry. In one of her writings about the loss of another lifelong friend, Dottie Thornton Drooz (another air cadet physics instructor), she quoted an Oliver Wendell Holmes poem which seems fitting here:

If I should live to be 
The last leaf upon the tree
In the spring,
Let them smile as I do now,
At the old forsaken bough
Where I cling.

Rose will always be remembered for her generosity, discerning mind, professionalism, storytelling, curiosity, humor, and fierce love for her family. The Boyarsky family would like to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to the caregivers at TFAD’s Cohen Health Center, and Duke Hospice, for their expert, personal care. A celebration of Rose’s life will be held at TFAD Auditorium, 2701 Pickett Road, Durham at 2 PM on Thursday, October 1, 2026. In lieu of flowers, those who wish to remember Rose in a special way may make gifts in her memory to Judea Reform Congregation, Sarah P. Duke Botanical Gardens, or the Orange County Animal Shelter.