Rona Pashkin Boyer, age 74, passed away on Friday, November 27, at Vassar Brothers Medical Center after an arduous yet courageous battle with kidney and lung disorders. A resident of Millbrook for more than a decade, Rona was born in the Bronx on May 31, 1946, to Mildred and Lester Pashkin, both of whom have left us in the last ten years.

Rona had a long, successful and exciting career in advertising and marketing at McCann Erickson, which led her to live in Manhattan as a young woman, in European cities like Helsinki, Milan and Paris, where she met Gérard and eventually added Motherhood to her résumé. With a family of four, Rona came back to the States, bringing her closer to her aging parents. Professional success and security drifted in and out of Rona's life as the years unfolded. The family moved several times within Westchester and Putnam Counties, floundering financially a bit and adjusting to an empty nest. However, Rona and Gérard never stopped growing, both in personal and professional ways. Eventually, Rona re-invented herself as a magazine publisher for Best Version Media where she launched Living Millbrook, among other magazines in the region. Finally feeling like a part of a real community and wanting to help in a meaningful and productive way, Rona served on the board of the Millbrook Business Association as well as The Millbrook Rotary.

Rona was an intellect who enjoyed discussing politics (she was a die-hard Democrat!), history, and religion while sipping on her favorite French wines. Rarely did Rona come out the loser in a heated debate and she more than held her own against opposing views. Outside of politics, Rona had other passions and hobbies. She was an avid gamer, spending many afternoons and nights throughout her lifetime in various countries playing bridge, backgammon, pinochle, Rumi cube and mahjong with close friends. Thanks to years of living in France and being married to a very picky Frenchman whose main love in life was food, Rona worked diligently, striving to become half the chef her mother-in-law was. With many at-home tutorials from our beloved Lou-Lou and from close chef friends, Rona became a talented cook who impressed many guests over the years with delicious, authentic French meals that took hours to prepare, but she did so with great pleasure and with pride.

Rona sadly lost her husband, Gérard Boyer, in 2015 and her younger brother, Jack Pashkin in 2018. She is survived by her two daughters, Jennifer Boyer Volturno and Samantha Boyer. She leaves behind three adorable grandchildren, Melanie, Luke and Alexandre, who all brought more joy to Rona than anyone could have ever imagined, and there is one more on the way!

Local friends are invited to attend a small service on Thursday, Dec 10th at the Allen Funeral Home in Millbrook, NY at 2 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to support the Democratic Party by going on ActBlue.com. Rona would have loved that!