Obituary of Renee Geraldine Futterman

Renee Futterman passed away peacefully in her sleep on Sunday, October 20, 2019 in her adopted home of Las Vegas, Nevada. She was 90 years old. Renee was born March 30, 1929 in New York City to Melvin and Dorothy Lane. Renee grew up in Manhasset, NY, attended two years of college at NYU and completed a secretarial program at the Katherine Gibbs School. She met and married her husband, the love of her life, Stanley Futterman who preceded her in death on January 7, 2016. Together Renee and Stan created a real partnership, and after starting and raising their family of three daughters on Long Island, they left New York and headed to Phoenix, Arizona in 1971. The couple worked side by side as they built their floral business with shops throughout the valley, eventually consolidating the business to one shop in the Luhr's Building in downtown Phoenix where they worked until their retirement in 2009. These are just the facts—the simple outline of Renee's life together with her husband and family. But she was so much more than a few mere paragraphs could ever tell. Renee had a great passion for life that was apparent in everything she did and everyone she touched. Her home was always welcoming and warm, filled with laughter, music, dancing and the smells of something great cooking. When you were with her you were home – she embraced those, she loved, and she loved a lot. Her sons in law were loved as her own. Her daughters knew that they were always safe, loved and worried over. Her job was to create a solid foundation, down to earth and no matter how far her family may have travelled, she gave them the wings they needed to fly and the security of knowing there was always a safe place to land. Renee's greatest legacy is her grandchildren. There are six: Rachel Berman, Michael Berman, Kearney Hughes, Hannah Egerton, Rebecca Bever and Marlee Bever. Of course, she loved them, but this was not an ordinary grandmother/grandkid kind of love. She took the time to really talk with them, to know their lives, the good, the bad and the ugly, and all that interested them. She carved out deep relationships with each of them—they can all claim to be the favorite, because that's how she made them all feel. Each one of these remarkable, accomplished men and women were lucky enough to have had this generous soul in their lives throughout their childhood and into adulthood. Remarkable. There's a lot to this woman of substance. A veracious reader, politically active and passionate, avid bridge player, crocheter of quilts and countless hats, ferocious protector and defender of her children and their children. Renee Futterman was true beauty through and through. She will be missed—by her two loving sisters Cynthia Karlin and Patricia Lane, nieces and nephews, and legions of friends. She will be missed by her devoted sons in law Les Berman and Bob Bever. And she will be especially missed by her loving and devoted daughters Allison Berman, Linda Futterman (Stuart Larkin), and Karen Bever, for she lifted them when they needed it most, taught them grace by example, gave them the best hugs, was always there to share tears of joy and commiseration and was just simply the best. Renee was laid to rest alongside her husband Wednesday, October 23 at the Veteran's Memorial Cemetery, Boulder City, Nevada. An endowment has been established at the Nasri Academy for Gifted Children in her name as a tribute to Renee's love of books and children. The Nasri Academy for Gifted Children is a Section 501©(3) non-profit organization, 3695 Lindell Road, Las Vegas, NV 89103.