Raynor Doris Caplan
1930-2024
Raynor Doris (Bornstein) Caplan, 93, passed away peacefully on June 15, 2024.
The beloved wife of 72 years of childhood sweetheart, Hubert Caplan, she was the loving mother of Susan Caplan and her husband, Michael Kazenel of Canton, Jeanne Val and her husband, Luc Bernard Val of Milton and Donna Caplan of Kauai; loving grandmother of Kala Hagopian, Melanie Kazenel and Robert Buskirk-Lechner, Jessie Kazenel and Christopher Kaaria and Daniel Kazenel and Benjamin and
Jeremy Val; great grandmother of Kai Williams. She was preceded in death by her father and mother, Samuel and Anne Bornstein, sister, Lillian Katz and brother, Merton Lamden.
The Valedictorian of Winthrop High Class of 1948, Ray attended Wellesley College and graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts in Zoology and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society. She researched the thyroid, co-publishing a paper in Endocrinology with W. P. Vanderlaan.
Ray devoted her life to raising her children and grandchildren; later working in the medical office of her husband, Hu.
Ray will be remembered as a nurturing, kind, humble mother, wife, grandmother and friend. She took care of everyone. Her kindness and affection were all encompassing. She was Intelligent, had a quiet sense of humor and was dedicated to reading and life-long learning.
Ray was passionate about nature and music. She shared and instilled her passion for nature to her children and grandchildren – birds, plants, flowers, trees and appreciating nature and the earth. Her musical passion started with playing piano, singing folk music, and then attending opera and orchestra performances. She created a family tradition of singing with folk songs and lullabies.
Ray was buried at her beloved retreat in Harrison, Maine on June 19th. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, June 23rd at 1:30 p.m. at Temple Ohabei Shalom, 1187 Beacon St, Brookline, MA. Donations in Ray’s memory may be made to the Lakes Environmental Association Caplan Family Education Fund or to the Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens.
Frances Vitagliano
Retired Massachusetts Assistant Registrar of Vital Statistics
Frances A. Vitagliano of Winthrop passed away at the Care Dimensions Hospice House in Lincoln on June 22, 2024. She was 77 years old.
Born in Winthrop, the beloved daughter of the late Mary F. (Sarno) and Joseph N. Vitagliano, she was a long-time resident of Winthrop and worked as the Assistant Registrar of Vital Statistics for the State of Massachusetts prior to her retirement.
She was the dear sister of Joseph M. Vitagliano and his wife, Janet Marie of Wayland and the late Marian S. Vitagliano of Brooklyn, New York and Brett McGinty of Framingham.
Family and friends are cordially invited to attend the visitation in the Caggiano-O’Maley-Frazier Funeral Home, Winthrop on Friday, June 28 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. followed by a funeral service in the funeral home at 11 a.m. Services will conclude with the interment in the Cross Street section of Winthrop Cemetery. To sign the online guestbook, go to www.caggianofuneralhome.com.