Obituary: Shirley Schiffer
She was a nurse whose caring for children led to her support for Temple Emanu-El's Schiff Preschool.
Shirley Schiffer, 73, of Sandy Springs passed away peacefully at her home Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, with her husband holding her hand. She was stricken with a virulent form of lung cancer.
Shirley was born the middle of three sisters to the late Alfred and Hanni Schiff in Marietta, Pa., and moved to New York City as a young child.
Her lifelong ambition was to become a registered nurse to help others. Having both R.N. and B.S. degrees in nursing, Shirley used her skills and inherent compassion to help the people she loved the most: her family, her friends and her patients. Professionally, Shirley was a clinic supervisor at Children’s Medical Services, a state agency providing medical care to indigent children with long-term handicaps. After retiring, she applied these same skills and love of children on a volunteer basis at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Northside Hospital.
Her greatest accomplishment, however, was to serve as a compassionate and knowledgeable adviser to the family and friends who were fortunate to be in her circle. Shirley was the rock and resource who provided advice and counsel, not only on medical issues, but also on enjoyment of life itself. Her warm smile, calming voice, infectious laugh, outstanding intelligence and tremendous compassion were sought by many.
Even those who did not know her personally benefited from her caring and generosity. Shirley was the visionary of the Alfred and Hanni Schiff Preschool, which provides high-quality early education to the families of Temple Emanu-El of Atlanta. She also joined her husband, Edwin, in establishing the Nathan and Mollie Schiffer Camp Scholarship Fund, which provides children with the opportunity to attend summer camp. Through both of these programs, Shirley’s positive impact will remain broad and everlasting.
To Shirley, family always came first, and she is survived by her husband of 52 years, Edwin; her elder son, Jarad, his wife, Lauren, and their children, Rachel and Julia (Ren); and her younger son, Adam, his wife, Karen, and their sons, Alex and Jacob. She is also survived by her sisters, Paula and Helen; their respective husbands, Stanley Popeil and Nicholas Chambers; and her brother-in-law, Dr. Kenneth Schiffer, and his wife, Marcia. In addition, she leaves behind seven nephews and nieces and 17 great-nephews and -nieces, all of whom she cared for dearly. Shirley was a family person, first and foremost.
Sign the online guestbook at dresslerjewishfunerals.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Schiff Preschool at Temple Emanu-El, 1580 Spalding Drive, Atlanta, GA 30350; the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 950 E. Paces Ferry Road, Suite 110, Atlanta, GA 30326; or Weinstein Hospice, 3150 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30327. Funeral services were held Sunday, Dec. 10, at Temple Emanu-El, with interment at Arlington Memorial Park. Rabbi Spike Anderson, Rabbi Scott Colbert and Cantor Lauren Adesnik officiated. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
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