FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 5, 2021 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 43
Victoria’s
SECRETS
Victoria
SCHNEPSYUNIS
vschneps@schnepsmedia.com
It was Aug. 16, 2020, almost
a year ago, when Claire
Shulman closed her eyes forever.
Oh, how I miss her!
Her children, the accomplished,
renowned oncologist
son Dr. Larry Shulman and her
astronaut daughter Dr. Ellen
Shulman Baker, invited me to
the unveiling of her headstone.
Headstones are usually unveiled
a year aft er a loved one’s loss,
according to Jewish tradtion.
Driving to the New Montifi ore
Cemetery in West Babylon I had
quiet time to refl ect on my dearest
friend, and all she had meant
to me, her family, her friends and
her community.
Her career as a public servant
set her in a category with
few people in our time. She put
more shovels in the ground in
Queens than anyone since perhaps
Robert Moses. His were
controversial; hers were golden
additions to our beloved borough.
It was she who found the
funds for the expansion of
the Queens Museum and for
the New York Hall of Science,
the Flushing Meadow Corona
Park Pool, the U.S. Open facility,
Queens Hospital Center, and
more projects touching nearly
every neighborhood in Queens.
Her extraordinary eff orts in her
16 years of service were stopped
only by term limits.
But she didn’t stop there. Only
two weeks before her death she
was still running the Flushing
redevelopment project to restore
the waterfront.
She was as strong in her career
as Queens Borough President as
she was in her friendships.
She adored “her” Ellen, her
Larry, her beloved sister Ruth,
and all her grandchildren and
then great-granddaughter. But
they all lived out of town, her sister
as far as Utah, and her daughter
in Houston. So her friends —
I was lucky to be one — adored
her, and she doted on us and
nurtured us as if we were family
members.
For me her daily calls were
fun-fi lled with gossip, family
worries and news of our work
and worlds. I could go on and
on. How I miss Claire!
I miss her encouragement.
One day she called me and said,
“Hey, Vicki, that was a great article
you wrote. You are really a
Oh, Claire, how I miss you!
good writer!” It was the best
compliment I ever received!
In the decades I’ve been writing
it, no one has ever said that.
Coming from Claire, a serious
taskmaster — just ask her staff —
it was an enormous compliment.
I miss you so much, Claire.
Having my best friend gone
is like having a hole in my
heart. Each of us at the gravesite
reminded each of us of the special
love she gave us. Th e overwhelming
feeling of those gathered
around was said succinctly
by her son-in-law Ken Baker:
“We all thought she would live
forever.”
Well, she does, in my heart —
but Claire, I miss you.
JOYOUS EVENTS
One of the privileges of being
publisher of Dan’s Papers is to
support and attend the events
held by many nonprofi t groups
benefi ting the East End, and
the North and South Forks. Th e
South Fork is the Hamptons, the
North Fork is our Napa Valleylike
wine country.
Th is weekend I had the privilege
of attending the South
Fork Natural History Museum’s
(SOFO) annual benefi t held on
its grounds. Th e mission of the
nonprofi t, founded in 1989, is
to “stimulate interest in, advance
knowledge of, and foster appreciation
for the natural environment,”
emphasizing the unique
natural history of Long Island’s
South Fork.
Diana Aceti, the director of
development, greeted me and
directed me to the cocktail party.
An unexpected guest was a magnifi
cent golden hawk.
As he quietly, gracefully sat
on his caretaker’s
arm, I felt it was
safe to approach
him. Remarkably,
the wild bird
accepted the attention
of dozens of
people gawking at
it. Calmly, almost
proudly, the hawk
took in the crowd
as I stared at him in
awe.
But there were
some remarkable humans there
too.
I walked over to a knoll spotting
two poles with unique bird
feeders on the tips. Th e white
gourds on the poles are nesting
boxes for the Purple Martin
birds.
Two couples were watching
the little birds fl ying about. Th ey
explained that these special birds
fl ock in enormous numbers to
the refuge then leave in the middle
of August to migrate south.
Remarkable!
Dearest friend Claire with husband Mel and me
with my late husband Stu on a Baltic cruise
At the cocktail hour the family
were giving out samples of
their unique drink Doña Sarita
Mezcal. What impressed me was
that the winemakers were also
the owners of the Ace Hardware
in East Hampton for 50 years.
Jonathan explained that this
drink was a tribute to his mother’s
Dominican roots. It’s sold
locally at Park Place Wines &
Liquors in East Hampton.
Th e joyful family oozed with
pride.
One of the guests at
the benefi t was Lou
Grassi of Grassi &
Co., who is one of the
sponsors of the ongoing
SculpTour. Also
seen was Frederico
Azevedo, Alex Cohen,
Jocelyn Ranucci, and
Catherine Ellams.
As always friends
Todd Shapiro and
Jean Shafroff were
in attendance as were
hundreds others.
A great event for a
great cause on a picture
perfect night.
It doesn’t get better
than this!
A little dubious of the hawk
at the SOFO fundraiser
Wayne and Alice SOFO
Whitmore at John and Heather Shemilt at the bird feeders
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