Boris E. Cherney

Boris Cherney of Arlington, Virginia passed away peacefully in his sleep on April 19, 2022 at the age of 100. Boris had a keen intellectual curiosity, a natural business sense and a love of sports, history and music. As a young man, Boris was an aspiring song writer who composed over 75 songs, many of which were fun ditties that were a source of enjoyment for those who loved him.

Boris was born in Los Angeles, CA on July 5, 1921 to Russian/Ukrainian refugee immigrants, Maria and Gregor Cherniavsky. He was raised in Hollywood, CA. He fell in love with baseball at an early age and later was a member of the Hollywood High School baseball team where he graduated in 1939.

Whatever plans he had for a career abruptly changed after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in February 1942, choosing this branch of service no doubt because of his love for the ocean. After basic training, he was assigned to the destroyer USS Goldsborough in Norfolk, VA as a Sonar Man and spent several months in the anti-submarine warfare effort in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. In 1943, the Navy sent him to Lawrence College in Appleton, WI to attend the Navy World War II Officer College. It was at Lawrence that he met a beautiful classmate from Wisconsin, Barbara Jean, who became his wife in 1945. She waited for him when the Navy sent him to Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, to complete his B.S. degree in business. From there, the Navy sent him to Harvard Business School, Cambridge, MA, for midshipman training, after which he remained and earned his MBA in 1947.

He served in the U.S. Navy for 22 years, as a Supply Corps Officer, retiring with the rank of Commander in 1964. He then pursued his second career in association management in Washington DC, working for the American Psychological Association, the American Chemical Society and the American Society of Association Executives.

Boris is survived by second wife, Earlene Barnett; three children, Larry Cherney (Liliane), Susan Cherney (Tom Cahill), and Barbara Andrukonis (David); ten grandchildren, Emily, David, Laurie, Beth, Julie, Alex, Caroline, Megan, Lisa and Amy; and 17 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 53 years and mother of his children, Barbara G. Cherney (1998); his son, Paul R. Cherney (1981); his parents, Maria and Gregor Cherniavsky; his brother, Adolf Cherniavsky; and his favorite tennis partner and brother, Richard Cherney (in 2017 at age 102).

His legendary fun and charismatic personality and thoughtfulness will be dearly missed by his loving family and friends.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Thursday, May 12, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at Little Falls Presbyterian Church, 6025 Little Falls Rd, Arlington, VA. Donations in his memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org) or the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org).