Obituary of Sylvia Schwartz
Rock Hill, NY
It is with great sadness to announce that Sylvia Berger Schwartz, daughter of Bella and Sam Berger, passed away peacefully on January 13, 2023, with her family by her side.
Sylvia was born in Manhattan on April 1, 1933. She resided there until moving to Rock Hill in 1962.
She had a varied work life. She worked at Excelsior Meat Products as a switchboard operator, secretary, and eventually traffic manager for ten years. After she moved to Sullivan County, she worked at The Jewish Community Center in Monticello. After that, she worked as an office manager for Horizon Advertising and Printing. In 1993, along with 2 co-workers, she became a partner in Horizon Printing where she worked for five years before retiring in 1998.
Sylvia was very active in the Jewish community. She was a member of B’Nai Brith Women and an active member of the local JWI. While a member of JWI, she was involved in fundraising, especially the annual luncheon and fashion show which supported the Children’s Home in Israel. She was also a member of Temple Sholom in Monticello. She worked there as a Hebrew school teacher for several years. And, early on was a part of the More Guts than Talent troupe comprised of her friends Harriet Gottlieb, Marilyn Gottlieb, and Annette Hoffman that did fundraisers for the Temple.
Sylvia enjoyed painting, Mah Jong, Crossword puzzles (which she always did in pen), and calligraphy, but the most enjoyment she got was singing. In her last years, she could be seen performing at various open mics and music events. She was informally dubbed The Sullivan County Songbird.
She is survived by her beloved son, Steven, and his fiancée Antoinette. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews…Linda Schwartz, Steven Schraeder (Crystal), Neil Schraeder (Lisa), Mona Ingber (Daniel), Ellen Baken (Scott), Arthur Schwartz (Claudia), Robert Jancko (Sandy), Michael Schwartz (Carloyn), Suzanne Rella Schraeder, Sherri Berger Frank (Nate), sister in law Debbie Berger and several great nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her first husband Bruce Sam Opfer, her second husband Martin Schwartz, her beloved son Clifford, her sister Norma Schraeder, her nephew Howard Schraeder and her niece Gail Schraeder Pent and her brother, Paul Berger.
She will be missed by many friends and acquaintances especially, Carol Pozefsky, Ron Freilich, Antoine Magliano, Jerry and Lorraine Bogursky, Tom (Chris) and Nick Marshall, and Laura and Jimmy Carnell who she considered her extended family.
The Schwartz family would like to thank Middletown Park Manor for taking care of her these last couple of years.
A graveside funeral service will be held on Sunday, January 15, 2023, at 11:00am at the Temple Sholom Cemetery, Southwoods Road, Monticello, NY 12701.
Arrangements are honorably entrusted to the Joseph N. Garlick Funeral Home - 845-794-7474 or www.josephngarlickfuneralhome.com.
