Obituary of Sylvia Schiffman

Sylvia Schiffman, of Westport, CT., age 91, passed away November 24, 2018, holding her dear friend's hand and listening through the last note of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. She was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., the middle child of three siblings. She had a stellar academic course, skipping 3 grades to enter Hunter College at 15. There she met Billie, who would become her life-long friend. She obtained a Master's degree in English at Columbia, married Murray Schiffman in a ceremony that took place in a hurricane on November 25th, 1950. They eventually moved to Boston for Murray to earn his Master's from MIT in Electrical Engineering, and, as she raised 3 children, she herself earned her second Master's in Psychology at Boston University. She worked for many years as a school psychologist, in Sharon, Mass. and then in Waterbury, CT after they moved to Westport in 1971. In short order, she became Chief School Psychologist of Waterbury Secondary Schools and affected the lives of countless teens for the better, with her wise counsel and forthright manner. She was one of the earliest members of the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism and remained very involved with that group for the rest of her life. She retired at age 64, traveled the world, enjoying the opera, books, theater, classical concerts at Tanglewood and in NY, adult education, and enduring friendships, in high spirits and with boundless energy. She had little patience for limitations of any sort. She was predeceased by her husband but survived by her three loving children, Erica, Paul, and Robin Schiffman, her sons-in-law Ben Tandowski and Mark Goodman, her daughter-in-law Angela Schiffman, and her two adoring grandchildren, Arielle and Micah Tandowski. She was buried on November 25th,2018, on what would have been her 68th anniversary, which she chose to celebrate in Heaven with Murray. Should you wish to honor her memory with a donation, please send any contribution to The American Friends of the Open University of Israel, 120 East 56th St. Suite 900, NYC, NY 10022. (212-712-1800, infor@afoui.org)