Bonnie Abramovitz worked for most of her adult life as a cook and chef, including 20 years as chef at Cliffside Restaurant on Grandview Avenue, Mount Washington. And her favorite activities on her days off were shopping for food, cooking and feeding her family, friends and Mount Washington neighbors.

Mrs. Abramovitz died Sunday at her home after a three-year battle with cancer. She was 63.

She grew up in the Uptown section of Pittsburgh. She and her husband, Fred, raised their children in Mount Washington. The couple were married 43 years.

"She never took any cooking classes," said her daughter Dina McFeeley of Brookline. "She learned as she went along. She just always loved to feed people."

One of her first jobs, more than 30 years ago, was at a Mount Washington restaurant called Armstrong's. For the last 20 years of her career she was head chef at Cliffside.

"She made the best shrimp scampi ever" and pepper steak was one of her specialties, Mrs. McFeeley said.

Mrs. Abramovitz enjoyed slipping out of the kitchen and into the dining room to talk to guests at the upscale restaurant with a view of Pittsburgh's skyline.

At home she made spaghetti every Sunday and was happiest when large numbers of people were on hand for the meal.

"She loved shopping in the Strip District and about every three or four months we would buy 160 pounds of chicken. Nothing went to waste, not even the bones, which were used to make the stock for wedding soup."

Mrs. Abramovitz also enjoyed watching the ballgames and activities of her grandchildren.

Her maiden name was Galluze, her ethnic background was Italian and Irish, and she loved going to see the St. Patrick's Day parade every year, Downtown, which included cheering for her son-in-law, Todd McFeeley, a Pittsburgh firefighter.

She retired from Cliffside three years ago "and got sick one week later," Mrs. McFeeley said. The restaurant was sold in October 2005, and the new owners announced plans to convert the building into apartments.

Other survivors include daughters Denise Abramovitz of Mount Washington and Daleen Soriano of Crafton; a stepdaughter, Marcy Young of Buffalo, N.Y.; sisters Penny LaQuatra of Green Tree and Eileen Denillo, Kay Heidkamp and Theresa Freund, all of Mount Washington; eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

A blessing service took place yesterday in Mount Washington.

First Published: February 22, 2008, 5:00 a.m.