Arnold B Tofias

Having met the love of his life, Evelyn Diamond from Staten Island, while earning a BS in Civil Engineering at Cornell in 1946, they married and raised a beautiful family, residing in Newton. Summers were spent on Cape Cod and winter weekends skiing in Vermont. After Evelyn’s death in 1981, he met and married Gloria Dwork, a loving partner with whom he spent 34 wonderful years.

During WWII, he was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps, serving as a flight engineer on B-29s, flying missions over Africa, China, Japan and the Philippines, and in the Korean War. Returning from military service, Arnold joined his father at the Medfield Hat Factory in Medfield, MA. It closed in 1956 following external attempts to unionize. With families to support and empty factory space, Arnold and Julius fell into the real estate business. Arnold was smart and not averse to risk, turning a difficult situation into an opportunity to develop a successful industrial and commercial real estate business. He loved his work with interesting projects around the region, including projects in Brockton, Ocean Spray Headquarters in Plymouth, Cambridge and repurposing the historic Ames Shovel Shop in North Easton. In the 70’s, his son Donald joined him in business and they built the signature Silver Building on Route 128 in Waltham.

Arnold loved family, sailing, and skiing. He was a wonderful father, grandfather and great-grandfather and instilled a love of family and hard work that will be a legacy for generations. Arnold is survived by 4 children, Elise Tofias Phillips and Russell S. Phillips of Newton, Lauren Tofias of Monterey, Bruce Tofias and Deborah of Wayland, and Donald Tofias and Joanne of Newport. He leaves nine grandchildren: Zachary and Levi Tofias, Shaina Tofias McMahon, Zeke, Jeremy and Adam Phillips and spouses, Michael and Alissa Tofias and Liza Elsaesser, and 10 great -grandchildren with one more due in March. He also leaves his wife Gloria and her children: David Dwork and his partner Amy Lee, Robert Dwork and his partner Carol, Jamie Dwork Pierce and Howard Pierce, as well as grand-children Justin, Jenny, Casey Dwork and Josh and Alex Levin. He is also survived by his sister, Annabelle Sheppard.

His funeral and the celebration of his life will be at Temple Shalom, 175 Temple Street, West Newton, MA on Thursday, January 30, 2020 at 10:30 am with burial to follow at Sharon Memorial Park, 40 Dedham St., Sharon. Shiva to take place on Thursday, January 30 from 5-8 pm at Elise and Russ Phillips home. Please consider giving in his honor to those less fortunate or to a charity of your choice.