Obituary of Selma Kait Shimshi

Obituary of Selma Kait Shimshi

Selma K. Shimshi of New York City, age 91, passed away on July 16, 2022 at Northwell of Plainview Hospital on Long Island.  Born in The Bronx, New York to Rubin and Fannie Kait (nee Pomerantz), Selma was the second of three daughters.

Selma graduated from Brooklyn College with Bachelor of Arts and Masters degrees.  She was a teacher in the New York City Department of Education her entire career, taking a break to raise her children.  She ended her career teaching NIEH (Neurologically Impaired Emotionally Handicapped) students in Chinatown.  Her students loved her, and despite their issues, she was able to make an impact in their lives.  She stopped working when her first grandchild was born, taking a sabbatical and classes.

During retirement, Selma honed her skills as a comedienne, taking classes through the UFT with her husband, and doing stand-up routines for her classmates.  She enjoyed spending time with her five granddaughters.  She was a true and proud New Yorker, having lived in Manhattan for the last 57 years, enjoying all New York City had to offer.  She also adopted Sephardic traditions, out of respect for her husband Paul, and was a member of the Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America.

Selma was married to Paul for nearly 63 years until his death in 2021.  She was a loving mother to Faye Shimshi and her husband, Todd Wolfson, and Jason Shimshi and his wife Donna; and was grandmother to Rachel and Emily Wolfson, and Rina, Celia and Eliana Shimshi.  She is survived by her brother-in-law Sol Shimshi (Sonia Elisha).  Her sisters and brothers-in-law Ruth and Dudley Lesser, and Phyllis and Irving Exter, along with her in-laws from Paul’s side of the family, Becky and Julius Hausman, and Salvatore and Phyllis Shimshi, predeceased her.

Donations can be made in Selma’s memory to the Alzheimer’s Association (http://www.alz.org).