She was 91. She had been a resident of Paramus since 2018 but had spent most of her life in
Cliffside Park, moving there from Manhattan in 1955. Mrs. Kamil was born in Brooklyn to Sam and
Rose Sokolitsky. She was predeceased by her parents, by her brother Carl, and by her sister Shirley.
At an early age, Selma showed both artistic and musical talent. As a teenager she was a
professional singer in the chorus of Yiddish movies. Her father, who was himself an amateur
Shakespearean actor in Yiddish theater, encouraged her but her mother thought it an inappropriate
endeavor for a teenage girl.
Mrs. Kamil earned a BA from Brooklyn College with a major in Early Childhood Education. She was a
member of Pi Alpha Tau
sorority and maintained friendships with her sorority sisters throughout her
life. After college, she worked as a nursery school teacher until she married Irving Kamil in 1949 and
left teaching to start a family.
The family, consisting of Selma, Irving, a son, Jan, and a daughter, Rowena, moved to Cliffside Park
where a second daughter, Shira, was born five years later. Mrs. Kamil became active in the Jewish
community as president of the Temple Israel Sisterhood organization and as a Board member of the
Synagogue. She was also a Brownie leader and was active in the Cliffside Park PTA.
Selma put her musical and artistic talents to use by organizing, and performing in, entertainment
events for the community, for the temple, and for the Baker Street Irregulars, the Sherlock Holmes
society of which Irving was an invested member. Throughout her life, she sculpted in clay and
painted in various media, winning art competitions. She also wrote and illustrated a children’s book
for her great-grandsons.
Selma and Irving started traveling with their children in the early 1960’s. After Irving retired, the
couple traveled to literally every continent. Mrs. Kamil collected art and folk masks on her travels and
had an impressive collection representing the many places visited.
Mrs. Kamil is survived by three children, Jan (Janet Lazar), Rowena (Richard Gianfredi), and Shira
(Brian Rathjen); four grandchildren, Daniel, Jillian Leigh (Jeff Orkisz), Rachel (Nick Bacci), and Brian
Jr.; and two great-grandchildren, Lucas and Tucker Orkisz.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.guttermanandmusicant.com for the Kamil family.
