Milwaukee native Miriam “Mimi” Chernov, nee Hess, died March 18 at the age of 83. The cause of death was pneumonia.
A graduate of Riverside High School, she attended the University of California-Los Angeles.
An activist supporting liberal political causes, she educated others about national and global events as the executive secretary of the World Affairs Council, according to her family.
After a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis forced her to leave that position, she advocated for changes in the approach of medical practitioners to their patients and in patients’ assumption of more active roles in their own treatment.
She was an early proponent of patient support groups and worked as a program coordinator for such groups at Mount Sinai Medical Center.
From 1976 to 1988, she was employed as director of the Interfaith Project for the Elderly’s Older Adult Living Alternatives Program.
She was a member of Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun, where she served as Sisterhood president and member of the board of directors.
She especially enjoyed art and reading and was described by her family as “a free spirit.”
Preceded in death by son Richard Chernov in 2001, she is survived by her husband of 63 years, Ben L. Chernov of Milwaukee; daughter Martha (Kenneth) von Kluck of Glencoe, Ill.; sister Dorothy (Robert) Gaertner of Deerfield, Ill.; and five grandchildren.
Rabbi Marc Berkson officiated at funeral services at Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun, March 21. Burial was in Spring Hill Cemetery.
Memorials to Richard Chernov Children’s Fund, P.O. Box 527, Minong, WI 54859, or Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun would be appreciated by the family.
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