Arthur Muskovitz ~ 1936 - 2023
Submitted by paula on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 12:27pm
Arthur Muskovitz was born on February 27, 1936 in San Francisco, California, and passed away on August 1, 2023, in South Lake Tahoe at the age of 87.
Art lived with his father Morris and his two older sisters. As the military draft was in effect, Art joined the Marine Reserve. During his 15 months reserve duty, Art took part in weapons training and training in amphibious landing skills. Upon graduation from Sir Francis Drake High School, Art transferred from the Marine Reserves to the United States Air Force full-time. Art spent three years stationed in Lincoln, Neb., where he met a catholic priest and was baptized Catholic at the age of 20. Art was sent to Osan, Korea for his final year in the Air Force. After four years of service; he took his G.I. Bill and enrolled in San Francisco City College before transferring to San Francisco State College.
In 1959, during classes at San Francisco City College, he met the love of his life, Juanita. He saw her one day with books in her arms and noticed her beautiful smile. He said to himself, "Holy crapola, I've got to meet that girl!" She was only 18 and Art was 22. Her best friend was in his music class and Juanita would wait for her after class and they would catch each other's eyes. One day, Juanita left a note on his car to invite him to a Valentine's Day party. That was the start of a beautiful relationship! Art and Juanita were married on August 20, 1961, in St. Anthony's Catholic church in San Francisco.
In 1963, soon after President Kennedy was assassinated, Art, Juanita, and her cousin took a ride to Lake Tahoe to ease their sad moods. They loved it so much that Art and Juanita decided to move to South Lake Tahoe. Art got his Master's degree in education and got a teaching position as a 5th-grade teacher in Lake Tahoe Unified School District where he taught 1964 to 1991.
In 1991, Art retired from the school district. He took up a job working at Heavenly in guest services for two years. He worked for his son, Adam, in his construction company, as a painter for 15 years. He volunteered his time at the Cancer League for 10 years driving patients to and from their appointments. Art volunteered for the Barton Auxiliary, pushing the Comfort Cart, and visiting residents in the skilled nursing facility. He then lived in the Barton Skilled nursing facility for the past seven years, comically calling it his condo.
Art and Juanita had three children. Their first child, Julie was born in 1964 and passed away at the age of 22, from Acute Leukemia. Their second child, Aaron was born in 1965; he passed away in 2002 from acute pneumonia. Their third child, Adam, was born in 1969. Adam and his family live in South Lake Tahoe. When the children were older, Juanita received her Master's in Special Education. She went on to direct the disabled students' learning lab at Lake Tahoe Community College. Unfortunately, while teaching, her cancer returned in 1990 and she passed away at 49 years old, during their 29th year of marriage.
Art was famously known around the community for reminding everyone that “You’ve got to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.” His fun-loving nature and positive attitude will be carried on by his family. He is survived by his son, Adam Muskovitz and his wife Wendy Muskovitz, and their two daughters, Mykala Muskovitz-Mori and Kylie Muskoviz.
Family and friends are invited to Art's service/mass at St. Theresa Catholic Church at 11 a.m. on September 23, 2023, at 1041 Lyons Ave, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150. A reception and celebration of life will follow at St Theresa's Grace's Hall after the service. All are welcome as Art was such a big part of the South Lake Tahoe community.