Celebrating the life of Roslyn Hoffman

Roslyn Hoffman

July 2, 1931 - November 28, 2025

SERVICE INFORMATION

Date and Time

Tuesday, December 2, 2025 at 11:00 AM

Service

Rosehill Cemetery - Hennig Chapel
5800 North Ravenswood Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60660
Get Directions

Clergy

Rabbi Rebecca Benoff
Chicago Sinai Congregation

Interment

Rosehill Cemetery
5800 North Ravenswood Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60660
Get Directions

Memorial Contributions

Greater Chicago Food Depository
4100 West Ann Lurie Place
Chicago, Illinois 60632
www.chicagosfoodbank.org
or
Metro Chicago Hillel
858 West Wrightwood Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60614
www.metrochicagohillel.org

OBITUARY

Roslyn Hoffman, nee Braverman, loving mother of Cynthia Swanson (David), Karen Hoffman (Dave Khuon), Elizabeth Hoffman, and Valerie Foxman (Michael), grandmother of Eric, William, Lauren (Nicole), and Emily (Serge) and great grandmother of Jake, passed away Nov 28, 2025. Roslyn retired as the Associate Vice Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2000.

Roslyn was particularly proud of her academic achievements, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in mathematics from Queens College, NY. She continued her education at the University of Chicago, earning a Masters Degree in Computer Information Systems, while raising her children.

Roslyn progressed successfully in her career, starting as a statistician creating the seminal student information systems for the University of Chicago, through a 30-year executive career at the University of Illinois at Chicago. As Associate Vice Chancellor of Administration, Roslyn led a broad range of operations, including planning, budgeting, communications, and parking systems. She was well respected by her colleagues, mentored women and Jewish students, and served on many University boards including the Hillel association.

The family would specifically like to thank Barbara Moskalewski for her care and companionship as Roslyn’s personal assistant and caregiver for over a decade. Barbara and Roslyn became close friends, enjoying cooking and conversation. Barbara is an angel to our family.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, December 2, 2025 at 11AM at the Hennig Chapel at Rosehill Cemetery Mausoleum, 5800 Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, Illinoi 60660.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in her honor to Greater Chicago Food Depository, Mail Processing Center, 4100 W. Ann Lurie Pl, Chicago, IL 60632, www.chicagosfoodbank.org or Metro Chicago Hillel, 858 West Wrightwood Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60614, www.metrochicagohillel.org.

To attend the funeral livestream, please visit our website. Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals - Skokie Chapel, 847.229.8822, www.cjfinfo.com

GUEST BOOK

We encourage you to share your personal condolences and stories of Roslyn Hoffman below and we will share them with the family.

I met Roz exactly fifty years ago on Thanksgiving, 1975, at a Jewish singles meeting in Flossmoor. We immediately became fast friends. She guided me lovingly through some very dark times and continued to be a dear friend in later years. I will be forever grateful for her sage advice. Always insightful, always practical, always sensitive, always the classy lady. May her memory be for an everlasting blessing.

Bob Silverstein

November 30, 2025

I am so very sorry to hear about the passing of Roz. I first met Roz years ago when she was the group leader of the Phi Beta Kappa Book Club. Already professionaly retired, she was so welcoming and encouraging to me in many ways. Through the years, whenever I walked into the Knickerbocker Hotel for our monthly book club meetings, I would think of Roz fondly. If memory serves me well, she told me once years ago that she picked that hotel with its grand ballroom and multicolored dance floor for our book meetings because it also had special meaning to her due to a family celebration there. Early in my association with her, I confessed to her the special meaning of this book club hotel setting since I danced the night away long ago on that multicolored floor at my senior medical school class party. There was always to me a sense of the regal around Roz. She shaped the book discussions by her questioning nature, her steadfastness regarding her own opinions, and her love of good literature. She never had to raise her voice to gain attention; her ideas were enough to capture our focus. She was this pioneering woman to me, this great role model of a bright, well accomplished professional woman, with love of family and friends , who in retirement was still grappling with human nature, the culture, the world at large, and the forever elusive "meaning of life" through the experience of books and even more so, the discussion of them. And I cannot forget her sense of playfulness as she talked about playing cards on the side. May there be many warm memories to comfort her family and friends. May her spark for life be carried on in those she touched.

With My Deepest Sympathy to the Family,

Kimberly Merenkov

Kimberly Merenkov

December 1, 2025

We came to know your mom during her many visits to Alpharetta, GA. I remember her as a loving and caring mother and grandmother. I felt very close to her during those early years when she came to visit. She was so kind and always asked about our children as well. She was a wonderful woman.and she will be missed. May her memory be a blessing!

Gail Neder