Suzanne Nicoletti ("We Remember..." Contact)

Richard D. Alba

 

To all of you in the Good Neighbors community,

With full hearts, we want to let you know that our beloved Richard—husband, father, grandfather, and your fellow neighbor—passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 4, with his family by his side. He was 82.

Richard found deep joy in being part of this community. After returning to Brooklyn in his later years, he often told us how lucky he felt to have found the Good Neighbors. Whether he was walking the neighborhood with the pedestrian safety group, diving into conversation in French, Spanish, or German, sharing thoughts in the men’s book club, or mixing drinks after becoming a certified bartender (yes, really!), he gave his whole heart.

And of course, in classic Richard fashion, he went all in—joining the board, becoming treasurer, and quietly working behind the scenes to help make things better for everyone. He loved the conversations, the shared curiosity, and most of all, the spirit of mutual care that defines this group.

Richard was a lifelong learner and a firm believer in community. He wasn’t just here to participate—he was here to connect. He brought with him decades of scholarship, activism, and public service, but he never led with credentials. He led with kindness, thoughtfulness, and a genuine interest in whoever was sitting across from him.

We’re so grateful he had the chance to know all of you. It meant the world to him—and to us.

In lieu of flowers, our family welcomes donations in Richard’s memory to one of his favorite local institutions: the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, where music and community come together in ways he deeply valued.

A memorial gathering will be announced in the coming weeks. Until then, please keep him in your thoughts, and maybe raise a glass or say a phrase in another language in his honor.

With love and gratitude,

Gwen, Mike, Sarah, Jessica, Dmitri, Cyrus, Marcus, and Oscar

Elaine Grant Archer

 

Born London, England - Died Brooklyn, New York

Park Slope United Methodist Church

May 18, 2024, 2pm

"To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour"

                                   –William Blake

She was an immensely modest person, but took pride in her family, her home, her work and writing, and her part in collective efforts to help legalize abortion in New York State. She maintained her dedication to the cause of protecting the right to abortion until her last day. With her husband, she shared her love of art and travel; together, they visited places as diverse as Scandinavia, Oaxaca, Moscow and Dakar, among many others. With her brother, she shared a love of and memory for poetry, which she recited up until her final hours. She will be remembered for her generosi­ty and empathy, her love of flowers, art and the written word, her ability to strike up conversation with anyone, her stunning intellect and dedication to lifelong learning, and her absolute mastery of grammar.

If anyone would like to contact me or her family, this email address is best, Cliffcdcu1@gmail.com.

Clifford Rosenthal, husband of Elayne Archer

Jole Carliner

"Jole was an energetic, outgoing member of Weekday Walkers. She was curious, friendly and very well-liked. We will miss her."

Carol Milano, Coordinator, Weekday Walking

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope you can join us on June 1st. Please share with your networks of those who knew and loved Jole.

Best regards,

Hannah Carliner and Vivien Greene

carlinerhannah@gmail.com

 

Bernette Rudolph

Bernette Rudolph kept her passion for art, friends, and whatever new experiences life offered for all of her 93 years.

 

She was born in the Bronx and raised in Rockaway, and loved drawing lines on paper from a very young age. Her favorite lessons early in school were in cursive writing. She “drew lines on the sand, on rocks with charcoal, and etched lines on copper and zinc.” Her first serious art works were wood cuts. She studied with master Japanese print maker Shilo Munakata at Pratt Institute, even though neither spoke the other’s language. The art connection was enough.

 

Bernette next began to make wood sculptures, using her wood block tools but also a scroll saw and a band saw. She created wood sculptures based on photographs, making the photos three-dimensional. While working on a series of artworks based on manhole covers, she discovered an image of Athena. This led her to research on goddesses and to sculpting representations of goddesses from cultures around the world. She continued working primarily in wood until, in her nineties, she moved from her apartment/studio on Third Street.

 

Bernette was married three times. Each of her husbands predeceased her. She had a daughter and a son with her first husband, and later a granddaughter and four grandchildren.

 

Bernette was a wonderful presence during the early years of Good Neighbors of Park Slope. She came to many events and joined several activity groups, and volunteered to run some wonderful art groups over the years, most notably a group using rolled paper art which was a skill she had learned during her rehabilitation from a stroke. But mostly she was an exceptional example of someone who dealt with heartbreak and still kept making new friends and new art by always moving forward.

 

Bernette wrote a short memoir entitled “Lines Wood & Water” which can be accessed at: www.bernetterudolph.com. The memoir includes many photographs of her art.

One GNPS member, Karen de Chabert, writes of Bernette: My first memory of her was at a GNPS breakfast in 2018, where she asked another member how she got her hair to stay in its brilliant red color because her own bright pink hair color faded too quickly. The pink hair discussion caught my attention!

 

She looked at me and said, “What are you doing here?”. I was newly retired. She took a liking to me and brought me to her art studio/apartment. I was astonished at how prolific a working artist she was at her age. She was the “grandma with a bandsaw in her living room”. She also still enjoyed riding her bike along the East River! We became friends and often met at local restaurants in Park Slope to “catch up”. She invited me to read her memoirs which are posted online. It was delightful. I miss her.

We all miss her…

Joan Kronick

When Joan Kronick decided that she was ready to die (she preferred the word die, instructing family to steer clear of limp euphemisms like “pass away”), she joked about the futility of printing this obituary. “My friends are dead, and to

everyone else I’m just a 97-year-old broad who kicked the bucket,” she said, knowing full well that neither statement was true.

Born in Schenectady, NY to Philip and Anne Jacobson on New Years Day, 1926, she was graduated from Connecticut College and married the love of her life, Albert Kronick, in 1948. Joan was a comedic genius, peerless in accents and punchline timing. She loved theater and the ballet, and was herself an accomplished painter. She loved New York, riding the subway from Park Slope into the city well until she was 90; the view of the Verrazano Bridge from her terrace was, she said, her diamond necklace.

She was a pioneer in founding a Title 1 school volunteer program in Dallas in the 1960s; serving on the board of Connecticut College, for which she received the College Medal—its highest honor—in 2001; working for many years with Jewish Family Services as an advocate for children in Family Court in Brooklyn; and serving on the board of the Prospect Park Alliance, for which she won the Wilbur Levin award for outstanding service in 2007.

She loved the park. “Olmsted said that he practiced on Central Park and got it right with Prospect Park,” she reminded us. Against the gentle cynicism of her husband of 68 years, Joan maintained a fervent belief in the possibility of making the world a better place—a belief that she instilled in her children Susan Dana Kronick (Edward Manno Shumsky) and Richard Gray Kronick (AmyBridges), her granddaughters Dorothy Kronick (Etan Green) and Emma Freeman (Zach Freeman), and her four adoring great-grandchildren.

She died at peace: three weeks before her death, when an aide observed that God “had not yet called her number,” Joan replied, “Well, maybe I should text him.”

FROM THE GNPS BOOK CLUB:

Joan was a wonderful and valued member of our Classical Fiction Book Club, who always had astute comments and opinions on the books we read together. She also brought her insights into books she suggested that we read. She was a role model for all of us, and we will miss her every month.

Christopher A. Li Greci

Christopher A. Li Greci, initiator and host, with his partner Bob Ohlerking, of the popular GNPS Late Breakfast with Bob and Chris and Lunch with Chris and Bob, died on Christmas morning of lung and kidney diseases, complications of a lung transplant he underwent ten years ago. He was 83 years old.

Chris taught junior high school English at Mark Twain Junior High School, later Mark Twain Junior High School for the Gifted and Talented, popular with Park Slope students and parents. Upon retirement, Chris volunteered at the adult literacy program at the Grand Army Plaza branch of the Brooklyn Public Library for 15 years. Chris and Bob traveled frequently, visiting Europe 15 times. Chris was active in his church Saint Michael's Russian Catholic Church and was ordained a Protodeacon by Cardinal Eagan.

Good Neighbors of Park Slope members will miss the joyful dining with Chris and Bob.

Richard "Dick" Nininger

The Board of Directors of Good Neighbors of Park Slope is saddened by the news of the death of Dick Nininger, one of our founding members in 2014. Dick was instrumental in helping to set up the structure of many activities that we still enjoy today. Our deep condolences to his family.

The following obituary was sent to us by his niece:

Richard "Dick" Adams Nininger (1929 - 2022), the youngest of three sons, grew up in Bronxville, New York. At 14, after the death of his father, Richard spent a short year in Ft. Lauderdale with family before moving to Connecticut where he continued his education at The Taft School in Watertown. Richard went on to attend Yale University to study Architecture, graduating in 1951. A course in Greek Studies piqued his fascination in Greek culture, history, and architecture, a passion that sent him traveling to Europe and East Asia in subsequent years.

Richard was drafted into the Marine Corps where he served from 1951 to 1953. After boot camp at Paris Island and school at Fort Belvoir, Richard was assigned to the Second Marine Division in Camp Lejeune, during which time he was sent to embarkation school followed by assignments with NATO Special Forces planning military operations in the Mediterranean

and the Caribbean. As In all of his life’s endeavors, Richard served his country with honor and distinction.

In the fall of 1954, Richard returned to Yale School of Architecture to earn his Master's Degree. After graduating in 1957, he sailed for Europe, traveling from October 1957 to December 1958. He traveled throughout Western Europe outside the Iron Curtain and reached Yugoslavia and Turkey. He returned to Europe many times over his lifetime to continue exploring his

many interests and fulfilling his destiny as a lifelong learner. Upon Richard’s return home in 1958, he worked as an architect in New Haven for a year before moving to New York Clty to work in various firms as a draftsman. In 1971, he bought and renovated. almost entirely on his own, a 3-family brownstone in Park Slope - he was a skilled, self-taught craftsman.

Over the years, Richard made many contributions to building community in Park Slope. He helped to bring a much needed grocery store to the neighborhood, created ‘mini parks’ at intersections of streets bordering Flatbush Ave, and was a founding member of Good Neighbors of Park Slope (GNPS) in 2014. In his retirement, Richard enjoyed many hobbies including researching his extensive family history and writing two books documenting 13 generations of history and stories. Richard attended the many Sterling Place block parties over the years, and more recently enjoyed his membership in the GNPS 90+ Social Group.

Richard had a wry sense of humor and unmatched wit. He loved history and was known to have a story about or have knowledge of, an extensive array of topics. He recounted stories and locations of travels over 50 years prior like it was yesterday, enjoying his audiences exclamations with a soft chuckle and bounce of his crossed leg. Richard was equally adept

as a listener, taking great interest in the lives and adventures of the people in his life. A strong-willed, independent person, Richard took all challenges head on, from tackling landscaping feats in his garden to learning to navigate a smartphone at 91.

Richard was predeceased by his long time friend, Walter Barnard, and his brothers Charles and Sigourney. He leaves behind three generations of nieces and nephews who adored him, as well as great friends, near and far, whom he cherished. Richard will be buried in Lowell Cemetery in Lowell, Massachusetts among Richardson ancestors, and next to his mother and father.

A memorial celebration will be held, in Park Slope in November, when his whole family can be together.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Friends of the Maryland State Archives:

https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/homepage/html/friends1.html 

or East Brooklyn Mutual Aid:

https:/www.eastbrooklynmutualaid.org/

From the GNPS Caregivers’ Group:

When I discovered the GNPS Caregivers group, I was eager to join. DIck was an active participant. But the original group was filled. Three people were waiting for a new one to start. To give us enough participants to begin meeting, Dick graciously attended each session. Volunteering his hours, he gently helped us learn the delicate, unique ways to share our own experiences while interacting and empathizing with others. He was exceptionally warm, open and caring. I gained so much from his interventions, and it was a privilege (and an enormous benefit) to share some very personal time with Dick.  

Prepared by Carol Milano

From the GNPS Over 90 Group:

Richard was among the first members of the GNPS "Over 90” support group. His fine sense of humor and his quick wit made him seem much younger.  

Our group will be hard pressed to find a replacement for him. We join his family and friends in saying a sad goodbye.

Prepared Bernie Kleinman  

Michele Spirn

We members of the GNPS Classics Club mourn the passing of our founder and leader, Michele Spirn, who died June 30, 2022. Michele founded the Classics Club in June, 2020. She was a an accomplished, published author with a passion for literature. Her wide reading enabled her to propose classics from every period of British and American literature, even when we members tied her hands with limits—“no books of more than 400 pages,” “no slow boring ones either.” She read deeply with insight and led our discussions effectively. The breadth of her knowledge was most impressive; she seemed always able to fill in context around the book under discussion. She was kind and inclusive—just a wonderful leader and person. She loved the Classics Book Club. We will miss her greatly.

Michael Cutala

Cherished husband of Judy Feldman, beloved father of Nicholas and Jesse Cutaia and adored Pops to his 4 granddaughters Misa, Emiko, Persie and Andi. Mike died on May 17^th at NY Presbyterian Hospital, with family at his side, from multiple complications of treatment for Hodgkins Disease at age 34. 

 

As a pulmonary and critical care physician, Mike was dedicated to the care of veterans at VA hospitals in NY, Rhode Island, and PA. Except for his family – who he adored to no end, he loved nothing more than treating patients, teaching, and mentoring interns and residents, and fighting for resources for veterans scarred by military service.  

Although he was an academic physician and researcher, he loved adolescents and couldn’t wait for his granddaughters to become teenagers – quite a paradox. He was a writer and poet, bicyclist and traveler.

Mike faced many medical challenges as a result of his treatment for Hodgkins and became passionate about the importance of physical activity for older folks – joining a local CrossFit gym at age 62. His trainer described him this way:

“Dr. Mike was a kind soul with a deep love of life and passion for learning about the human condition. He was always quick to muse about philosophy, poetry, art, sport and their respective intersections. He loved meeting people and his kindness and warmth were immediately evident to all who were lucky enough to interact with him.” 

 

A video of his CrossFit participation was made by the gym: https://crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com/workout-of-the-day/2022/05/23/tuesday-5-24-22.html/.

Mike was active in GNPS with the Aging Transitions Group, and GNPS was an important community for him after he retired in 2019.

 

Robert Sanjour

“Sandy” was born in Brooklyn and with the exception of travels lived his 79 years here. He loved this borough even when it was scoffed at by others who viewed it as dangerous and decrepit.  He appreciated the concept of neighborhood and saw Brooklyn as a conglomerate of different villages, yet a sophisticated city as interesting to explore as “those far away places”. 

  

His parents were both graduates of LIU and he was proud that his mother was a NYC teacher and his father a NYC Policeman.  He attended public schools until he entered Pratt Institute from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Industrial Design. He worked for Ideal Toy company but

was offered an Activity Therapist job on the Adolescent Psychiatric Unit in Kings County Hospital. He had many talents, but his natural ability to work with people was unrivaled. The boys on the unit sang “to sir with love” in his honor. He moved up to the director’s position but ultimately gave designing toys another try at the Henry Katz Organization.  

After a year, he decided the world didn’t need one more Humpty Dumpty Table Top, and he returned to the psychiatric field at Brookdale Hospital and Medical Center. He audited their residency and over the 49 years, until he retired, became the director of activity and group therapy. His empathy and sense of humor endeared him to even the most troubled patients and they applauded when a session ended. He ultimately provided supervision for art therapists, occupational therapists, psychology interns and psychiatric residents.  

Through his work, his humanity enriched Brooklyn, but he also was a draft counselor during the Vietnam War, was block president of President Street, and was a one man rescue team if anyone was in danger. He was an excellent horse back rider and co- owned the Prospect Park Riding Stable to prevent it from closing.  He played banjo and guitar, and was a talented photographer and artist. He provided excitement and joy as a husband, father, relative and friend..good natured and charming with a wit that lit up lives.  

Sandy is survived by his wife, Carol, son Billy, daughter in law Amanda and brother Rik.  

 

Jack Corporon

John Corporon, age 92, died at his home on Tenth Street in Park Slope on February 4^th. Born in Arcadia, Kansas, he went on to a storied career in broadcast journalism in the  post-war period. For 24 years he was News Director of WPIX, channel 11, in New York City. He broke into the news business in Louisiana where he exposed a pattern of voter suppression. One of the highlights of his career was producing the only known interview of Lee Harvey Oswald just months before the assassination of President Kennedy. John was President of the Overseas Press Club of America and the Associated Press Broadcast Board.  

 

John and his wife Harriett (who pre-deceased him two years ago) traveled widely to Europe, enjoyed a month on Fire Island every summer, had a 40 year subscription to the Metropolitan Opera and supported the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Brooklyn Museum. He was very proud to be a member of the “Ninety Plus Club” of Good Neighbors of Park Slope, where he was the youngest member!

 

Sonya Frye

Matthew J. Harris

Matthew J. Harris died on August 2 at the Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in Park Slope, Brooklyn. He was born June 16, 1942 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Lillian Freund Harris and Milford Harris. He attended Shaker Heights High School, where he was captain of the varsity football team, graduated in 1960, then went on to Colgate University. In the summer of 1964, he traveled to Mississippi as a civil rights worker to participate in SNCC efforts to register voters, and he remained attuned to civil rights issues throughout his life.

In 1965, he was married to Leslie Aurbach, a fellow Shakerite; this union lasted for ten years, ending in divorce. The couple had two daughters, Lauren Victoria who predeceased him in 1973 and Evan Elizabeth. During the later 1960s, he worked in New York City in publishing as an editor at Doubleday, then moved with his family in the early 1970s to the east end of Long Island to co-run The Old Post Office Cinema on Newtown Lane in East Hampton. He left East Hampton for stints in New York City, the South of France, and Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he pursued a Masters in Fine Arts in creative writing at the University of Arkansas. 

In 1979 he married painter Margaret Bowland; they had two children, Milford Jerome and Julia Banks. The couple settled in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, where he remained situated until his death. At the age of 52 he entered New York Law School, and was admitted to the bar in the state of New York in 1997. He practiced law in various areas, including immigration law, taking on numerous asylum cases. Matthew Harris was an avid reader with a broad knowledge and fine understanding of literature. He acted as a literary mentor to those close to him, and as a reader in the literary efforts of both of his daughters. 

He is survived by his wife Margaret Bowland, children Evan Harris, Ford Harris and Banks Harris, by his Grandsons Cosmo Hamada, Rock Hamada, Nick Harris, and Otto Harris, and by his brother Seth Harris. A memorial service is being planned for September 12, to be held in Brooklyn.

Roberta (Bobbi) Greengold

Beloved mother of Molly and Jake, grandmother of Max, Lucy, Zoe and Benjamin, wife and partner of Steve for 51 years, and devoted friend to many who loved her dearly, Roberta, known to all as Bobbi, died peacefully on June 28, at 73, surrounded by close friends. She was a nurse for over 50 years, first in hospitals, then as a home care administrator, and finally, as a psychiatric nurse practitioner, earning her license well into her 60’s, after two masters, including an MBA. She believed deeply in helping people, even those she barely knew, through their journeys through mental and physical illness. She was a fighter who battled cancer for 55 years, overcoming Hodgkins’s Disease at age 19, and staving off stage four lung cancer for more that four years. The radiation that saved her life as a youth damaged her bones and her heart, but it didn’t stop her. In her last year, she proudly joined in letter writing campaigns in support of candidates fighting to defeat fascism. She will be deeply missed by her family and friends.

Bobbi will also be missed by the members of her GNPS knitting group who enjoyed seeing her lovely knitted creations and discussing life and politics with her every few weeks!

Elizabeth Hughes Schneewind

Elizabeth Hughes Schneewind, 81, died on the 12th of June, 2021, in Brooklyn, New York. Born May 11, 1940, in Chicago, she attended the University of Chicago Lab School and in 1959 received a B.A. in philosophy from the University of Chicago. She later obtained an M.A. in philosophy from Brown University and was ABD in philosophy at Yale University.

 

Elizabeth and her husband Jerome B. Schneewind resided in New Haven, CT; Pittsburgh, PA; Brooklyn, NY; and Baltimore, MD. They returned to Brooklyn upon retirement. Elizabeth received a MSW from the University of Maryland in 1985. She worked at Jewish Family Services in Baltimore, published on geriatric care, and was an accredited translator of German philosophy.

 

Elizabeth is survived by her husband of 58 years, Jerome B. Schneewind; three daughters, Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah; four grandchildren, Leonora, Elizabeth, James, and Sebastian; and her sister, Helen Brock. She is also survived by her sons-in-law Bruce Tindall and Nickolas Gikas and her daughter-in-law Janelle Heideman. She was predeceased by her parents, Everett Cherrington Hughes and Helen McGill Hughes.

 

A funeral was held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Tuesday, June 15.

Tom DeLamarter

Tom DeLamarter (1944-2021) was born in Fort Braggs, North Carolina, son of a nurse mother and a military father. Growing up as a “military brat”, he moved around frequently including spending his kindergarten years in Japan and attending middle school in Germany. He rarely went for two years in a row to the same school. After school he moved to various colleges earning both Bachelors and Master degrees, the last of which was a Masters Degree from Yale economics department where he also taught.

Always curious about the world round about him he went with his first wife, Nancy Petaja, as a Peace Corps volunteer to India then traveled home overland. Shortly after returning, they left again for Tom to take advantage of a scholarship to study in Louvain, Belgium, where his first son was born. 

Back in the US, Tom had various jobs, most noteworthy of which was as an economist for the Justice Department in the anti-trust case against IBM. It was during that case that he was moved to New York from Washington (where his second son was born) and he settled in Park Slope. It was in the midst of a crack epidemic and he had two rent-controlled apartments in the building he bought but Tom never let “little” things like that get in his way. He later went on to write about the case in a well-received book called Big Blue: IBM’s Use and Abuse of Power. He spent summers during that time cycling in UK, Ireland and France with his two teenage sons.

In 1990, when Eastern Europe was breaking apart and communism was coming to an end, Tom accepted a job teaching at the former Karl Marx University in Budapest, Hungary. It was there that he met his second wife, Helen. He started traveling to Lviv, Ukraine, and founded a consulting company as well as set up a management institute.  

Tom and Helen traveled extensively to off-the-beaten-track parts of Eastern Europe and moved to the Balkans. Tom taught on a Fulbright Scholarship in Ljubljana, Slovenia before they moved to Montenegro. They discovered sailing and bought a 24 foot sailboat which they used to sail in the Adriatic and throughout Scandinavia.

They returned to Park Slope in 2009 and joined GNPS about 4 years ago. A great reader, Tom also loved meeting people and having conversations where he delved deep. His favorite passion was to pick up “treasures” from the street and refinish or repurpose them, the perfect Park Slope hobby.

After declining health, particularly related to Parkinson’s and dementia, Tom died peacefully in his sleep on January 12^th with Helen by his side. The Saturday before his passing was Tom’s birthday. Friends sent him messages, photographs and memories from across the world and he had a “living memorial” week where these were shared with Tom in his awake and lucid spells. His last evening was spent with his oldest son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons on Portal – a calm and happy evening.

Helen DeLamarter 

Zipporah Portugal

Zipporah died on November 11, 2020 at Calvary Hospital Hospice, in Brooklyn. She had been battling a recurrence of breast cancer for over a year and finally decided to forgo further treatment at the beginning of October. She was fortunate to have had many friends and relatives who visited her in her final months and remained lucid until her last day, albeit very sedated. Shortly after her passing, a Zoom call was held as her memorial due to Covid restrictions. During this virtual gathering, many who participated recalled her gift of connecting with people, her unfailing sense of justice, and her always-caring spirit. Following the service, it was decided that an in-person memorial would be held in the spring in Prospect Park, where a tree would be planted in her memory. Such a tribute will be fitting because Zipporah loved Nature and visited the park and Botanical Gardens often. The date and time for this ceremony will be announced later. 

Zipporah grew up in New York City and entered the Peace Corps at an early age. She was assigned to a village in Thailand, where she taught English. After completing her assignment, she moved to San Francisco and lived there for some time before returning home. During this period, she lived in Greenwich Village and worked in several graphic studios. Later in her career, she joined Care for the Homeless, in Manhattan, in an administrative capacity. During our friendship, she rarely spoke about her work, but it was apparent to me that her sense of caring for the less fortunate was always a factor in the life-choices she came to make over the years. 

I’m not sure when Zipporah moved to Park Slope. However, during her memorial, a young man who lived in her building on Berkeley Place spoke about being on the Coop board with her for many years. He came to regard her, he said, as family. During her time in Park Slope, she was active in the Food Coop and became a strong advocate for eating healthy foods. When I met her at the YMCA on 9th St., she had been formally retired for some time, but had started a babysitting service. Her business card featured a whimsical pen and ink drawing of her and advertised her as someone who could be a substitute loving grandparent for kids who were living away from their extended families. Zipporah never married or had children, but clearly enjoyed being a sort of Mary Poppins-figure to the children for whom she cared. She delighted in taking her charges to concerts and in finding special gifts that they would enjoy. One of her long-time friends has said that she believes that caring for children was Zipporah’s true calling. 

Zipporah loved music and played her grand piano beautifully, even continuing to take lessons from a beloved teacher in the year before she died. Our friendship began by her asking if I’d be interested in playing duets together, which became a joy for both of us. As we got to know each other, she also shared information about activities and organizations she thought might interest me, including Good Neighbors of Park Slope. As I later discovered, I was not the only one she helped in this way. Many friends who spoke during her memorial service fondly recalled how she had touched them in supportive ways. 

No remembrance would be complete without mentioning Zipporah’s cats, Lola and Carmencita. They were her constant companions and her children in some sense. One of the hardest things for her at the end of her life was being separated from them. Thankfully, a neighbor in her building offered to adopt both of them, and that greatly eased her mind. 

Zipporah will be missed by her many friends and relatives, but her spirit will remain with all who were fortunate enough to know her. 

– Mary Jo Strickland 

Jimmy Li

James Gamhing Li, AKA "Jimmy" died suddenly and unexpectedly the evening of October 4th at the age of 71.

Jimmy, my partner for 18 years, lived a rich and diverse life. He was born and raised in New York City. However, his grandfather came to the United States as a young man, by jumping ship in Canada and then traveling to the United States, to obtain citizenship and make a home here.  

His grandfather left his son, Ging, in China, but when Ging was 10 the grandfather sent for him. The boy who knew no English arrived in California with a tag around his neck with his father's name and address in New York City. Somehow he made his way alone to the Big Apple to join his father, and the two of them worked 3 jobs a day to make a home, send money back to the family in China and start a laundry business. When Ging himself became a young man he returned to China for a brief visit. His mother (Jimmy's grandmother) found him a 16-year-old bride and after a 3-day courtship, the young couple traveled back to New York. Jimmy was born a year later.

Jimmy spent his early days working in his family's laundry, going to public school and Chinese school, and immersing himself in American life. As all his friends knew, he had a quick and curious mind and was very personable. He loved talking to people and helping people.  He became a very successful salesman where he used his people skills to good advantage. He also became a tour guide on the NYC double-decker buses, his favorite job. There he regaled people with his humor and extensive knowledge, and enthusiasm about the wonders of New York City. Jimmy also studied acupuncture and massage therapy. And, If you told Jimmy you had a physical problem, he would research all the alternative methods of healing and send you an extensive list of possible cures.

As one of his friends said, Jimmy was a Renaissance Man. He loved to travel, he loved to read, he loved theatre, art, and music (especially Doo Wop) and he especially loved to cook. My kitchen is filled with myriad spices I don't know what to do with - but he did!  

In his later years, Jimmy attended many Senior Citizen Centers. He took numerous different classes there on all sorts of topics. Towards the end of his life, he began developing his creative and emotional side by taking Reiki, meditation, sound healing, creative writing, poetry, and humor workshops. 

Although Jimmy didn't talk about it, I believe he knew on some level he would be soon dying from underlying medical problems, and he prepared for it. We worked together on hosting an Aging and Transitions Group through Good Neighbors of Park Slope, where as a group we often spoke of our own mortality. We also worked together at the Life and Death Discussion Group sponsored by Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture. And he attended many seminars and death discussion groups on his own, often telling me that when he died he wanted a Green Burial. I honored that wish. We buried him in a bamboo casket in Rosendale Cemetery near New Paltz, New York where he blends in with the earth he loved.

Susan Bady

Susan Brody

Good Neighbors of Park Slope mourns the loss of our member Susan Brody, who passed away on November 15, 2020, at the age of 72. Susan grew up in Queens and became a high school English teacher, working for 34 years at South Shore High School, at Prospect Heights High School and finally at the Teacher Center where she taught NYC teachers how to teach. She was well-loved and sought after to help with problems.

She loved languages, and enjoyed spending every summer with her husband Joe Zarba at their home in Sicily. She also loved spending time with their children and 7 grandchildren.

Another great love for Susan was Shakespeare, and according to Joe, she “ate, slept and breathed Shakespeare”, reading and memorizing all of the plays. When Good Neighbors started a Shakespeare Reading Group in May, 2020 she was one of the first to register, and worked to learn to use Zoom so that she could be part of the weekly group. She is remembered by the teacher Jules Trachten and many of the group members as one of the most active and enthusiastic participants in the group, who frequently volunteered to read passages and asked and answered many questions. Jules adds: “I will always think back to her enthusiasm and eagerness. She even insisted that I send out class reminders two days early so that she would always be totally ready.”

She is survived by her loving husband Joe Zarba and his sons Zachary and Sacha, daughter Gillian, brother Robert and the seven grandchildren she cherished.

William (Bill) Fink

William (Bill) Fink passed away on June 7, 2020 at the age of 93. He was born on June 24, 1926.

He had a full and long life. He worked hard, traveled and was a wonderful father to his two children, his grandchildren and his great grandchild. If any word could describe Bill it would be the word "educator". He loved teaching; from his profession as an industrial arts teacher in a city high school, his interest in cooking, in art, in music, in the fight for equality and the environment. He loved the ocean and fishing and would teach anybody who asked how to cast or bait a hook.

He had a quick wit, wrote many poems, and with a dry martini in hand was always ready for life's adventures. He will be missed.

Kathy Sonderman Levine

Good Neighbors of Park Slope mourns the loss of our member Susan Brody, who passed away on November 15, 2020, at

We grieve the passing of Kathy Sonderman who died peacefully in her home on Ninth Street. Kathy was the wife of Bob Levine, and a loving mother to Brian and Emily. She had lived with Parkinson’s disease since 1986 and participated in their Unity Walk every year. As her illness progressed she bravely underwent groundbreaking surgeries involving implants of deep brain stimulators over a period of 20 years to slow down the progression of this terrible disease. Her brain was donated to the Neurological Institute at Columbia so that the research may help future patients with Parkinson’s.

Kathy led a very full life in Park Slope. She taught special ed in New York City public schools; she was an active congregant at Brooklyn Heights First Unitarian Church, enjoying many summer vacations with her family at Star Island, a close affiliate. She was a member of a local sewing group with her friends and she was an early organizer of a successful Park Slope babysitting group. Her volunteer work included the Cuddler program at Methodist Hospital helping to cuddle babies.

More recently Kathy attended many Good Neighbors events, despite being wheelchair-bound, with the devoted help of Bob. Our love and prayers go out to Bob, Brian and Emily at this sad time.

Jasmine Melzer and Pat Bernstein

Jules Peemoeller

It is with great sadness that we mourn the death of Jules Peemoeller, a member of Good Neighbors of Park Slope and our friend.

 

Jules was engaged in the very early days of our organization's founding and began by playing scrabble! He then took his long- time experience as a Big Apple Tour Leader and volunteered to do tours for our members. The first offerings filled slowly but his reputation grew. Within a few months, his tours were filled as quickly as they were posted. He often repeated tours to certain areas of New York City to accommodate his followers. He reveled in the city’s neighborhoods and in the enjoyment experienced by the members that went on his tours.

  

Those who knew his art and saw it displayed at Good Neighbors events came to realize that he had taken his particular view of the various parks on his tours and had artfully transferred them through his work on paper.

 

He will be surely missed.

Walter Bernard

Dick Nininger, colleagues and Good Neighbor friends mourn the passing of Walter Bernard. A sharecropper’s son, he was a man of culture,a creature of humble piety and soaring spirit, a story teller, a wit, a librarian and man of wisdom.  

Bob Ohlerking, a friend and neighbor remembers Walter as a friendly, sociable, genteel man of the South. "He would greet neighbors and passers-by with a great smile and a happy expression.  If you stopped to chat he would tell you of his day or his childhood in North Carolina. His conversations with you would be peppered with quotations from the Bible studies from his early life as a son of sharecroppers or with quotations from the early Roman philosophers from his studies and work at Columbia University.  One always left encounters with him happier and enlightened."

David Leveson

Good Neighbors of Park Slope mourns the loss of our member David Leveson, who passed away at home on March 15th, at the age of 84. David was a unique individual, admired and loved by friends, colleagues, and students who collectively attended his standing-room only memorial service at our local Ethical Culture building in April.



Some people are smart, some are nice, some are fun to be with, -- David was all of these. His career as a geology professor at Brooklyn College spanned half a century, combining research, development of on-line courses, and teaching. He was beloved by his students, this writer among them, and admired by his fellow faculty members.



David was passionate about teaching, and assiduously avoided the departmental chairmanship, despite his seniority, in order to maintain contact with his students. His devotion to teaching is indirectly illustrated by a few quotes from the "Rate My Professor" web site:



Guy's awesome, really cool Brit, …


Brilliant! A wonderful prof. who really knows how to teach.

        
Very nice man, he is one of the best profs. in the Geo department. He really knows how to teach and make everything easy to understand. GREAT Professor. A MUST take!!


Open minded and sincere, when he is wrong unlike most of his colleagues he recognizes that he was wrong!!!! When he doesn't know the answer he doesn't try to baffle you with outlandish stuff, instead he does say that he doesn't know the answer, and he investigates it with you! GREAT SCHOLAR.


He is so old! I feel sorry that he's still teaching. Nice man.



David was an accomplished photographer and author. In 1972 his first book "A Sense of the Earth”, published in 1971, was nominated for a National Book Award and is still in print today. Upon his retirement from Brooklyn College in 2007 he and his wife Meg joined a group of artists to found The Longyear Gallery, located in Margaretville, NY, a mile from their beloved Weedwild country home, where he and Meg enjoyed over four decades of rural retreat, along with their cats, their daughter Bessie, and numerous guests. A special thrill was being with Bessie and Will’s adorable daughter Annabelle.



David continued to write and, upon his death, had completed two books, one of which was a partly fictionalized memoir he had been working on for over 50 years. 



He will continue to be deeply missed by all who knew him.



Arnold Wendroff

Sheila Hanks

Good Neighbors of Park Slope grieves the loss of our friend and neighbor Sheila Hanks. Sheila was a mainstay of 10th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. She lived on the block for more than 40 years and was always the first to welcome new people there. Sheila was a vital connection for that very special community of neighbors, whether it was through chats on her stoop, newsletters, participation in the Greenest Block Award, or obtaining daffodils for the tree pits. She was an avid gardener and for many years was head of the Hospitality Committee for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Auxiliary. At the Botanic Garden she had received a certificate in flower arranging and continued to attend flower arranging classes with her favorite instructor there, Rob Moss. Last October Sheila's husband Tom died, but she took great comfort in the amazing support she received from her caring neighbors. And her precious little dog Mia got her through each day and night.

On a personal note, Sheila was a dear friend whom I will miss greatly. Many people in Park Slope still remember the Holiday Crafts Sale that she co-hosted with her then next-door neighbor Pat Clinton: I was a member of that sewing group and we had great times together. Sheila was a very special person who touched many lives. Our sympathy goes out to her daughter Amanda and Amanda's husband Matthew.

Jasmine Melzer

Tom Hanks

Good Neighbors of Park Slope mourns the passing of its member Tom Hanks. Tom was married for over 50 years to our friend and neighbor Sheila Hanks.  He lived on 10th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues for over 40 years, and exemplified what it meant to be a Good Neighbor. Upon joining Good Neighbors Tom and Sheila were happy to re-connnect with members that they knew from their earliest days in Park Slope.

Tom had survived a serious illness in 2010 and resumed his active life in the community, including enjoying five years of working our at the Cross Fit Gym. A very important part of his life was his 30-year plus involvement in thegPrayer Ministry at Brooklyn Tabernacle.  The service there in celebration of his life was attended by more than 400 congregation members. Tom and Sheila's daughter Amanda gave an extemporaneous and moving eulogy to her beloved Dad.

As a long time-friend of the Hanks family I can say that I never saw Tom when he did not have a warm and sincere greeting and interest in what was going on. He will be very missed; we know that Sheila will find strength and support in her family, her friends, her block neighbors, and GNPS hopes that she knows that our groups and activities are there to help.

Alice MacIntyre

Alice and I met several years ago when I cast her daughter, Zoe, in a production of Chekhov's Three Sisters. Alice, a devoted mother-and a lovingly typical stage mother--attended every rehearsal. She began to come to my play readings and was a really good actress. When she became ill, she would come to my Nia classes full of enthusiasm despite her condition. She gave me strength as I witnessed her bravery and fortitude in dealing with her illness. She was such a trip at our weekly beginner poker games. I never saw anyone lose so cheerfully--and so consistently. Alice loved attending various Good Neighbors activities and tried to participate in as much as she could - Book Clubs, Scrabble, Canasta, folk singing. I feel so privileged to have known her. She was a ray of light in my life. She was artist, friend and companion on The Great Peace March. 

James Williams

Click here to see full Park Slope Coop Obit.

Edith Brafman

 

The Good Neighbors of Park Slope deeply mourn the passing of Edith Brafman. A kind and loving person, she was generous to the poor and hungry, routinely sent contrivutions to morethan fifty different organization and gave freely of herself to help friends, relatives and strangers alike; for more than a dozen years she has been helping to care for her disabled sister and her sister's three sons.  Her joy for life and her love for her children, her grandchildren an her husband knew no boundaries. A humble, yet energetic person, she was modest in all her ways.

At GNPS, she was an important part of three of our book clubs, and our poetry group. She was an avid reader and loved to share her insights into what she had read. She generously offered to host groups in her home, and would prepare a delicious array of snacks for those who attended. She always had a thousand plans for the future, was enthusiastic about everything that she did, and her enthusiasm was as infectious as her warm and loving sense of humor and the joyous smile with which she greeted every person she met.

 

We will all miss her thoughtfulness and generous spirit.

 

Allen Brafman

Joyce Jed - Classical Fiction Book Club

Margaret Kelly - Contemporary Fiction Book Club

Nancy Richardson - Non-Fiction Book Club

Bonnie Billet - Poetry Group

Len Fox

 

Len Fox, one of the original members of our folk singing group, has passed away after a long battle with cancer. Len helped launch our Good Neighbors folk singing group and showed up faithfully with his guitar in tow each month. In so many ways, Len was a generous soul. You may have noticed “LF” on the cover of several of our songbooks. Those were donated by Len along with the bag of percussion instruments that appear at each folk singing meeting so everyone could participate and enjoy themselves. 

Len Fox will be missed. May he rest in peace.

Sandy Haber

Norman Becker

 

The Board of Directors of GNPSmourns the passing of our dear friend and supporter.