for breaking news visit www.timesnewsweekly.com AUGUST 13, 2015 • times 31 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com AUGUST 13, 2015 • buzz • the Queens Courier 71 victoria’s secrets VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS vschneps@gmail.com Death is always so sad but... What started out, after a year of planning, Dynamic for all the news 24 hours, 7 days a week DENTAL go WORK to www.ridgewoodtimes.com 175-15 Jamaica avenue, Jamaica 718-297-4100 • 718-297-4106 tweet me @vschneps as a joyous family reunion ended with the death of the 91-year-old family patriarch, but the children, sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews and grandchildren were all there to support the widow because they were serendipitously in town for the family gathering. Their presence softened the pain of the loss. Such was this last weekend when Claire Shulman, my beloved friend and Queens’ grand dame as the former borough president, was on Long Beach Island for a weekend gathering that her niece Rohan had put together over a year ago to celebrate Claire’s upcoming 90th birthday. Her husband Mel, 91, has been in a weakened state and stayed home but was lovingly attended to. I arrived on Thursday night and shared the unique time with Claire’s children, Larry and Ellen, and their children and cousins and aunts and uncles. A large contingent who had traveled from California, Idaho, Utah, Pennsylvania and Manhattan was there for the precelebration. Sadly, Mel slipped away Sunday morning, but Claire had come home with Larry and Ellen to have a final farewell. Since in the Jewish faith, burial is within 24 hours, the funeral was the next day. If the family hadn’t already been nearby, it would have been almost impossible to have them arrive on time for the funeral. But they were. And they were there! Mel and my late husband Stu were great friends, both physicians and men with a hunger for knowledge, curiosity, a love of music, exchanging CDs of their favorite singers like Linda Ronstadt, and both served in the Armed Forces! They could sit for hours chatting away. Mel Shulman grew up in Baltimore and went to the prestigious Johns Hopkins University. He became a psychiatrist and did his residency at Queens Hospital Center in 1948. There, Mel was “taken” with Claire’s knowledge of T.S. Eliot, his and ironically her favorite author. He was so impressed that he asked her for a date and the rest is history. The marriage survived for 67 years. Claire and Mel bought a house in Bayside with 25 rooms and 10 bedrooms. She thought it was crazy but it turned out to be a place of refuge where their nieces and nephews and friends filled those rooms. His nephew Josh sent words from Utah saying, “He wasn’t a religious man. He would think me crazy for saying this but I thank God for Mel, for his being there when I needed him and for being a great example, a great influence and a great friend. ... He welcomed us into his home – me, my sister and brother and mother at a time when all might have seemed lost.” Another part of him was recalled by Claire talking about the “wild” side of the 6’1” Mel. He had led the family of “Hell’s Angels.” He and his daughter Ellen and sister-in-law Ruth all had bikes. Claire recalled riding on the back of his Kawasaki 615 to the fundraising party of Nick Garaufis who was running for state Senator against Frank Padavan. The crowd expected a city official but was blown away when she took off her helmet and jumped off the bike. A memorable sight. Mel was also an avid sailor – self-taught – and his son Larry recalled in his eulogy how he and his dad would aimlessly float on the water until they mastered the sails and the winds. For decades, it was their special father-son time. Claire laughingly explained that Mel had determined to teach her how to waterski but rented a boat with a 15 mph motor, making the task daunting. But, she did it! Mel secretly took flying lessons with Larry but that was one sport Claire didn’t participate in. Mel adored all his three children and his nieces and nephews, and had been their mentor on many levels. A dear family friend, 13-year-old Cary Zhang, wrote this poem in memory of Mel. Give a Man a Memory Give a man a memory Such that when his sky turns to earth His life will not be marked by just a stone Let the things he touched, changed, loved, cherished Be his store in the stream of time Give a man a freedom I believe that although Mel played an important part in helping many people through his private practice of psychiatry, his living children – Dr. Ellen Baker and Dr. Larry Shulman – are both world-famous leaders in their respective fields, she as a medical doctor astronaut who has traveled three times in space, and he who has led the Harvard University Dana Farber Cancer Institute, bringing his knowledge to countries around the world. His late son Kim was a successful assistant director in Hollywood. Mel may be gone, but his life has left a legacy and made our world a better place because he walked among us. Gathering of the clan on Long Beach Island Claire and Mel Shulman at his 90th birthday Mel in his leather jacket days Free Whitening included Some excluSionS Apply the inViSiBle WAy to StrAighten teeth third generation dentist $1500 off Lumineers $500 off Invisalign
RT08132015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above