Obituary of Cynthia Duff Gofman

Cynthia Duff Gofman Former Fulbright Scholar BYFIELD, MA / CHARLOTTE, NC Cynthia Barnett Duff Gofman of Charlotte, NC, formerly of Byfield, a former Scholar of Russian and Soviet Studies, beloved wife of Misha Gofman of Charlotte, NC, died Sept. 20 on Jeckyl Island in Georgia. Ms. Duff Gofman grew up in Danvers and Byfield, MA. She attended the Pingree School in Hamilton, MA, graduated from Triton Regional High School in Byfield, and from Smith College in 1978, with a major in government and Russian Literature. She studied at The Pushkin Institute of Russian Language, Moscow, in 1979, and at the Middlebury Russian Language School in 1976 and 1979. She also attended the University of Virginia Law School, and was a Doctoral candidate in the Woodrow Wilson Department of Government and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia Graduate School. From 1986 to 1987, she studied at the University of Moscow Law School as a Fulbright Scholar and International Research and Exchange Fellow. In 1988-1989 she was appinted as a East-West Center MacArthur Scholar in the department of Political Science at Duke University to continue her research on Russian Civil Law. Fluent in Russian, she was formerly employed in the Russian Section of the Library of Congress, and was a former member of the American Association of Advancement of Slavic Studies, the American Political Science Association and the American Association of University Women. She leaves her husband, Misha Gofman of Charlotte, NC; her parents, Dr. John F. & Estamarie (Shea) Duff of Byfield; she was the sister and/or sister-in-law of Kathleen M. Duff of Byfield and Cambridge, Elizabeth Duff & Robby George of Newbury, Dr. Julia L. Duff of Oakland, CA, John Fitzgerald & Brianne Duff of Georgetown, Christopher J. Duff & Tracy Mauck of Cabot, VT, Dr. Gregory P. & Kimberly Duff of Silverdale, WA, and Mark B. & Michele Duff of Syracuse, NY, 16 nieces and nephews, and she was the sister-in-law of Dr. Rebecca & Vladimir Gofman, Sasha & Anya Berkovich, Andre & Tanya Pandre and four nieces and nephews, all of Acton. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to a Funeral Mass on Saturday at 9 AM in St. Mary of the Annunciation Church, Conant St., Danvers, MA. Following the Mass, an Open Commemoration of Cynthia will be held at Oakmarsh, her family home in Byfield, MA, at 36 Elm St. The Cynthia Duff Gofman Scholarship has been established at Triton Regional High School. Donations may be sent directly to the school on 112 Elm St., Byfield, MA 01922. Cremation ceremony planned with Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 12 Chestnut ST., Peabody.