Sheldon Gershman

> Sheldon Gershman passed away at his home in Merrick, New York on Saturday afternoon, December 16, 2023, holding the hand of Mary (nee Ciotola), his wife of 47 years who was singing a lullaby to him as he passed. Shelly was born on January 16, 1933 in Williamsburg, New York and raised in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, spending his summers as a lifeguard in Coney Island, he graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School and studied for a time at Brooklyn College. He was a 6’1” athlete with piercing blue eyes, played semi-pro basketball and was selected for a team to compete in the Maccabi Games in Israel when instead he was drafted in 1953 during the Korean War. He served in the United States Army in Korea, a decorated corporal, he was honorably discharged in 1955. Shelly then worked for two years as a telephone lineman for AT&T before taking a sales position in the garment industry with Harper Industries. He advanced quickly at Harper, working as a successful national sales executive for 42 years, commuting from Long Island to his office in the Empire State Building.
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> Shelly met Mary, the love of his life, while on a ski vacation in 1974 at Mont Tremblant, Canada with his two teenage children Robyn and David. Shelly and Mary married two years later and raised their five children together, including Mary’s three boys, Tom, Tim, and Ted Canova. Shelly was devoted to his family and friends, and they will remember always his loyalty, sociability, wonderful sense of humor, and his sweet and kind disposition.
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> Shelly and  Mary enjoyed skiing, vacations in Anguila, playing tennis together and were active members of the Atlantic Beach Tennis Club for many years. They were an adventurous couple and travelled together throughout Israel, Italy, Croatia, Greece, the Galápagos Islands and Machu Pichu in Equador and Peru, Kenya, and the Serengeti plains in Tanzania.
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> Shelly was predeceased by his parents Hyman and Katie (nee Schwartz) and his older brother Lee. He is survived by his wife and five children and three grandchildren, Daniel and Ross Gershman and Brendan Canova.
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> Funeral arrangements as follows:
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> Tuesday, December 19, funeral service at 1:30pm, with visitation starting at 12:30pm, at Gutterman’s, 175 N. Long Beach Road, Rockville Centre, NY 11570. ( 516-764-9400 )
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> The service will also be live-streamed, go to www.guttermansinc.com , pull down the menu tab (by tapping on the three lines in upper right hand corner), select (tap on) Current Services, scroll down to select (tap on) Sheldon Gershman. The stream will be recorded and accessible at the same location on the Gutterman’s website for three months.
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> Shiva will be held as follows:
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> Tuesday 5-8pm, and again Wednesday 1-4pm and 5-7pm, at Mary and Shelly Gershman’s house, 2860 Wynsum Avenue, Merrick, NY 11566 ( 516-623-3013)
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> Thursday, 1-4pm and 5-8pm, and Friday 1-4pm, at David and Jill Gershman’s house, 756 Evelyn Avenue, N. Bellmore, NY 11710 ( 516-804-5579)