Avis Charno Berman Obituary (2006) - Overland Park, Kansas

Avis passed away peacefully Wednesday evening, May 17, at Manor Care Nursing and Rehabilitation Facility, OPKS. She was 84. Funeral services will be Monday, May 22, 10:30 a.m. at The Louis Memorial Chapel, 6830 Troost Ave. A brief internment ceremony will follow at Ft. Leavenworth National Cemetery, Kansas, at 1:30pm. Avis was born in Kansas City to George S. Charno, Sr. and Jennie M. Charno Dec. 3, 1921. She graduated Paseo High School and received a Bachelor of Science in Education with a major in English from Central Missouri State University in 1942. After a brief career teaching English she went to work at the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson in New York City where she met and married Alvin L. Berman in 1946. They were married 56 years until Alvin''s passing in 2002. Avis was a career advertising and public relations executive in Kansas City and for the final third of her professional career owned and operated her own agency, Avis Berman and Associates, until her retirement in 1988. Among the many accounts and organizations she worked with were The Kansas City Youth Symphony, Kansas City Philharmonic, Starlight Theatre and the Kansas City Blues Hockey Club. She founded Very Important Fans in the late ''70s, a membership organization that provided unique travel, theatre, music and sporting event experiences and other activities to its members. She spearheaded numerous charity and civic initiatives during her lifetime and was a supporter of the arts, Artist''s Coalition, a lifelong member of the Democratic Party and a member of The Temple, Congregation B''nai Jehudah. We remember her as a loving, generous mother, a strong and successful business owner, a devoted Kansas Citian and a determined individual who refused to take "no" for an answer, set high marks for compassion and integrity and set remarkable examples for personal perseverance and toughness. She is survived by her brother George H. Charno, Jr. and sister-in-law Harriett Charno of Overland Park, Kan., son Alan Berman, daughter-in-law Kelley Hunt and grandson Adrian Hunt of Lawrence, Kan., daughter Barbara Berman, son-in-law Eric and grandchildren Robert and Cassandra of Washington DC. The family suggests contributions to Kansas City Hospice, The George S. Charno, Sr. Award Endowment, Central Missouri State University, Smiser Alumni Center, Warrensburg, MO 64093 and Temple B''nai Jehudah.