AMHERST, MA: Jill Avrunin died on March 2 at Cooley Dickinson Hospital from complications of pancreatic cancer that was diagnosed in early January.  Her husband, George, and daughter, Eleanor, were with her.

Jill was born in 1946 in Yonkers, NY, to Eileen (Ullman) Spitz and Alvin Spitz, and grew up in New Rochelle.  She graduated from NYU and moved west for a few years, working several jobs including as a keno writer in a casino in Reno.  She came to Amherst in the early 1970s and got a second bachelor’s degree and a master’s in biostatistics from the University of Massachusetts.

She worked for many years as a researcher in the School of Public Health at UMass and then worked on quality of care research for five years at Baystate Medical Center before retiring in 2013. Outside of work, Jill was a talented and generous cook, a voracious reader, and an avid sports fan.

Her family is very grateful for the wonderful care Jill received over the last two months at Cooley Dickinson, especially in the Emergency Department. 

In lieu of flowers or other gifts, please send contributions in her memory to the campaign to expand the Cooley Dickinson Emergency Department (https://www.cooleydickinson.org/giving/campaigns-and-initiatives/).

Memorial guestbook at www.douglassfuneral.com