Denise (Mauler) Kurish

SHARON — On April 21, 2020, Denise (Mauler) Kurish, 71, passed away in the family room of her home in Sharon, with her husband, Dr. David Kurish, by her side after a three-and-one-half year stoic battle with lung cancer.

Denise was born in New York City on Jan. 11, 1949, the eldest of four children of Julius Mauler, a Holocaust survivor and Juris Doctor from the University of Vienna, and Rosaline Goldberg Mauler, a grade-school teacher from Hunter College.

Denise grew up on Long Island, graduated from Calhoun High School in Merrick, N.Y., in three years and attended Douglas College, the women’s division of Rutgers University, graduating in 1970. She went on to the Rutgers Medical School for the first two years of medical school, where she met her husband. She completed her medical education at Tufts Medical School in Boston, Mass., graduating in 1974.

Denise and David were married on June 8, 1974. They joint matched into residency programs in Rochester, N.Y. Denise did a rotating internship at Rochester General Hospital and went on to complete a general radiology fellowship in 1978, becoming board certified.

Denise and David looked all over the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast for a place to settle, and chose beautiful Sharon, Conn., with its outstanding community hospital. Their three children were born in Sharon Hospital. The eldest, Mark Kurish, is married to Amanda Reyes and lives in Ellicott City, Md., with two precocious grandchildren, Rosa, 9, and Joey, 7. Adam Kurish is an internist-pediatrician in Portsmouth, N.H., and is married to Rebecca Scheinberg. Denise’s daughter Rebecca Kurish teaches Spanish and French at King’s Academy near Amman, Jordan, and is married to Hamdi Mashalaha.

Denise has three siblings: Marilyn Mauler of New York City, Ellen Gershon of East Meadow, N.Y., and Michael Mauler of East Meadow and Deerfield Beach, Fla.

Denise devoted her life to her children and family. When her children were young, she loved to spend summer days with them at the Sharon Beach. She always had “Grandma’s Bag” of activities and surprises for her grandchildren when going out for meals. She helped to organize events for sports day at Sharon Center School. Denise was an active member of the Sharon Woman’s Club for many years, serving on the Scholarship Committee and Ways and Means Committee. She loved to interview the high school students that applied for scholarships and marvel at their many talents. At the annual Sharon Woman’s Club Spaghetti Dinner she loved to help prepare the food with the ladies and sell lots of raffle tickets.

Her Judaism was important to Denise. She was a member of Beth David Synagogue in Amenia, where she taught Sunday School. She was also a member of Beth El Synagogue in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. She contributed to the Duchess County Hebrew School.

She was buried on April 24 in Wellwood Cemetery in West Babylon, Long Island, near her parents. A memorial service will be held in Sharon at a later date.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Sharon Woman’s Club Scholarship Committee, P.O. Box 283, Sharon, CT 06069, or Beth David Synagogue, P.O. Box 125, Amenia, NY 12501. 

Denise and David are grateful to the staffs at Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City and Sharon Hospital for the excellent care she received and to Mr. Brian Kenny for his assistance with the funeral arrangements.