Rose “Rosie” Michele Wohl, 72, of Portland, ME, passed away on August 6, 2024 as a result of complications from metastatic cancer.
A pillar of her community, Rosie touched innumerable lives as a Jewish Chaplain at Maine Medical Center. Helping patients and families cope with sickness and grief was the work she was most proud of in her life.
Rosie was an active and dedicated member of Congregation Bet Ha’am, where she served as president of the synagogue board from 2005 to 2007, and regularly attended services and Torah study. She was also proud to be the first female president of the Portland Chevra Kadisha.
A community activist with fiercely held personal ethics, Rosie advocated for affordable housing while living on Munjoy Hill and was a regular volunteer at the Preble Street soup kitchen in Portland. Rosie loved to gather with friends and loved ones. Her Passover seders grew larger every year, often requiring borrowed or rented tables and folding chairs to fit everyone she so generously welcomed into her home.
Reading and writing were two of Rosie’s early passions. She was a published poet and a member of the Brainchild Collective, a women’s poetry collective at University of Illinois Springfield, where she received her master’s degree. Her other hobbies included snuggling her cats, singing, watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, and cheering on the Red Sox. Later in life, she picked up candlepin bowling and participated in a weekly bowling league.
Rosie was born on May 17, 1952 to Gerald Wohl and Shirley Randal in Syracuse, NY. She lived all over the country throughout her youth and young adulthood. She was married to Russell Schneider from 1977 to 1980 and to Jonathan Pollack from 1983 to 2012. She had three wonderful children: Joshua Wohl-Schneider of Rumford, ME, Leah Wohl-Pollack of Seattle, WA, and Rebecca Wohl-Pollack of Portland, ME.
Rosie was predeceased by her father Gerald Wohl, her mother Shirley Randal, her stepmother Joyce Wohl, and her sister Davida Wohl. She is survived by her three children and an expansive community of loyal and loving friends.
Services will be held at Congregation Bet Ha’am in South Portland on Friday, August 9 at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, Rosie has requested donations to Bet Ha’am.