FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 10, 2020 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 55
Victoria’s
DIARY
Victoria
SCHNEPSYUNIS
vschneps@gmail.com
tweet me @vschneps
A whirlwind week
I thought she would live forever!
It’s hard to believe the
caring, loving, powerful and
accomplished Claire Shulman
is not here on Earth. I feel she is
still here, but I know I can’t call
her today.
With the help of my team —
led by Elizabeth Aloni, our
webinar expert, and Alex Rosa,
Claire’s trusted chief of staff for
decades, and the QPTV team
led by Roz Nieves — we worked
with the Queens borough president’s
offi ce to give Claire the
goodbye she deserved.
Th e virtual celebration of my
beloved friend’s life was created
as a webinar and I trembled
in fear that all the moving parts,
pictures, videos and dropped
in messages would be up to
Claire’s standard of excellence.
And there was some last-minute
drama.
Because of our acquisition of
the iconic Dan’s Papers, I was
in Westhampton. I called my
daughter Elizabeth to make sure
I was connected since I was the
co-moderator of the webinar. As
I talked with her and she walked
me through connecting, I was
stunned to hear her say, “Your
internet connection is not there!
You better fi nd a better place to
do the webinar!”
Th e 5:30 start time of the celebration
was just an hour away.
I was feeling desperate when
I remembered that my friend
Diane Call, former president of
Queensborough Community
College, lived down the block. I
placed a fast call to ask if she had
internet connection and when
she answered “yes,” I ran to my
car with my Apple laptop, my
iPad, and my phone and cords
with batteries in hand!
When I got to her home, we
couldn’t connect my devices to
the internet, and I was terrifi ed
that I’d miss the moment to pay
respect to my beloved friend. But
we fi nally found that my iPhone
was the only device working, so
I got hooked up and ready to go
with just minutes to spare.
I opened the program with a
message to Claire:
“How do I love you? Let me
count the ways. You were my
mentor, my inspiration, my traveling
companion, my best friend
and my cheerleader. You always
worried about me as I acquired
more media outlets, saying each
time, ‘Are you sure you can handle
this?’ You always cared about
my wellbeing.
“When my fi ancé died a week
before my wedding and my son
Josh left for college, she told me
to “come to the beach,” and I
did! She loved her beach home
on Long Beach Island and I
cherish to this day the memory
of us on bicycles going from one
end of the island to the other!
“As my company grew to 250
people, I tried to mimic her
management style and philosophy
of being fi rm but friendly
while always expecting excellence.
“Th rough all the ups and
downs of my life, she was there
to reassure me and cheer me
on. I will miss dearly our daily
calls talking about nothing and
everything. Th at’s what a friend
is all about.
“How lucky am I to have
had Claire in my life and I will
cherish the memories and my
good fortune to have walked
this planet with a giant of our
time. We are blessed to have the
people whose lives she touched
share their memories of the
impact her life had on them. It
all starts with her children, who
were with her from the day they
were born to the last breath she
took, helping her to leave this
Earth painlessly and peacefully.”
Alex Rosa had asked Claire’s
family to send pictures they had
of Claire, ranging from her childhood,
to her becoming a nurse,
to marrying Mel, to becoming a
mom, to becoming Queens borough
The virtual celebration of Claire’s life
was a fifi tting tribute to her life.
president, to her work on
Flushing’s downtown waterfront
and redevelopment.
Friends recalled the power
of her love and inspiration.
Business friends shared Claire’s
impact on their business and
the community projects — she
was the executive director of the
Flushing Willets Point Corona
LDC until she took her last
breath at 94 years of age.
It was dear to see the children
of a Jackson Heights school
sing the appropriate song “Wind
Beneath My Wings” as a tribute
to Claire’s impact on building
schools in the borough.
I felt her presence throughout
the entirety of the two-and-ahalf
hour tribute. It went seamlessly
and I was so grateful and
relieved.
If you would like to view the
tribute, visit the Schneps Media
YouTube page.
Meeting ‘The Man’
When we signed the fi nal
paperwork and Dan’s Papers
offi cially became a member of
Schneps Media, I immediately
called Dan to set up a meeting.
Dan Rattiner, a man I
admired for decades, graciously
said yes despite his fears of
COVID-19. It was a picturesque,
sunny day, having lunch
with Dan and his wife on his
terrace overlooking the sailboats
in the Th ree Mile Harbor
Marina in East Hampton.
We clicked as two passionate
community news people sharing
and reminiscing about our
careers. Delightedly, Dan has
agreed to begin a podcast based
on his book, “Who’s Who of
Th e Hamptons.”
He will also be continuing his
celebrated column each week
and I expect we will have a lot
of fun working together.
Th e iconic paper is a popular,
must-read “institution” for
61 years aft er its founding in
Montauk. Just like me, he started
with one paper and grew his
brand over the years. I know
Dan’s Papers Independent
Media Company will be great
days ahead for all us!
Dan’s 1956 Triumph, which he
offff ered to take me for a ride in.
Proudly holding Dan’s
60th anniversary
book on his patio
overlooking the
harbor.
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