Elsie Dorothy Shapiro Halpern
HALPERN: Elsie Dorothy Shapiro Halpern, family matriarch, was born Aug. 20, 1922, and passed away March 4, 2023, in Clifton Park, New York, at the age of 100. She was preceded in death by her parents, Nathan and Bessie Mervis Shapiro, husband, Emanuel Halpern, brother and sister-in-law Sidney and Phyllis Shapiro, sister and brother-in-law Charlotte and Harold Star, and sister-in-law Lucille Shapiro. She is survived by her brother Louis Shapiro of Phoenix, Arizona; son and daughter-in-law David and Karen Halpern of Akron, Ohio; daughter Judy Halpern Klein of Clifton Park, New York.; granddaughters Abigail Cymerman (Aron) of Akron, Ohio, and Amanda Connell (Patrick) of Clifton Park, New York; great-grandchildren Hayley Cymerman, Liam Connell, Matthew Cymerman and Ethan Connell; and many Shapiro, Halpern, Bigman and Aronson nieces and nephews. Elsie was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, into a vibrant and raucous family. She graduated from Greensburg High School. At every gathering, stories were shared, and laughter, love and good food were always plentiful. She married her beloved Manny in 1942, and they moved to McKeesport, Pennsylvania. She and Manny raised David and Judy and proudly saw them graduate from McKeesport High School and Penn State University. When her children were young, Elsie taught Sunday school and led Scout troops. She was employed by Jaison’s Department Store in downtown McKeesport and then worked for Fashion Bug at Kennywood Mall in West Mifflin well into her 80s. She was a member of the Tree of Life synagogue in McKeesport and regularly attended services and Torah study there. She was also a longtime season ticketholder at the McKeesport Little Theater. Opinionated and well-read, Elsie survived surgeries and illnesses and eventually moved to upstate New York to be closer to family. She always loved paper-crafting and often sent birthday cards to relatives and friends that included origami shirts and pants crafted out of dollar bills. Once she settled into Beverwyck Assisted Living in Slingerlands, she started making origami figures out of Lipton Tea wrappers, and before long, there were tea-wrapper figures hanging from every walker, wheelchair and doorknob. Elsie was an excellent baker, known in her younger days for her delicious apple squares, and friends and family could always count on her to arrive for a visit with a metal coffee can tucked under her arm, filled to the brim with homemade almond-flavored pizzelles. When working at Fashion Bug, she would walk the mall before her shift, and while at Beverwyck, she enjoyed taking walks outside with her walker. Even after she moved to Schuyler Ridge Nursing Home in Clifton Park and was confined to a wheelchair, she would maneuver the wheelchair with her feet through the hallways, waving at nurses and other residents along the way. Known by her relatives as “Ussie” and her great-grandchildren as “GG,” Elsie was a force to be reckoned with, and she will be missed. A funeral ceremony was held March 6 at the Independent Benevolent Society Cemetery in Albany. Rabbi Ami Monson officiated. PJC
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