Cecelia Dorfman

hundred years old. Cele passed peacefully in her bed in her house in Hillsdale where

she had lived since 1951.

Cele was born August 29th, 1918. She grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey, where her

father, who had emigrated from Hungary, was a greengrocer.

Cele was kind-hearted, optimistic and generous. But her gentleness hid a fierce

intellect that made itself known by way of a prodigious memory and mastery over

word games—Scrabble, Upwords, the daily Jumble. Into her old age, she would sit at

the kitchen table and her late husband, Bernie, or her caregiver, Loraine, or her

daughters would read her the jumbled letters to unscramble. She never looked nor

wrote down the letters. Her eyes would close and from her lips popped the

deciphered word!

Cele was a fantastic storyteller, and no matter what the occasion there were always

tales to tell and memories to share. In her death she takes with her the definitive

archive of so many things Ritter, Dorfman, Apter and Soff.

Cele embraced life. She tap-danced, played piano and sang. She could carry a tune

better than anyone in the family. When her grandchildren picked up musical

instruments, Cele accompanied them on the piano. If she wasn’t home, she sang

along slowly and sweetly. Her voice strained as she grew older, but it never lost the

tune. In her final years, she would hum, just under her breath, beautiful melodies

from Broadway shows and hits from the forties and fifties that you’d have to get

close in order to be fortunate enough to hear.

Cele’s generosity manifested itself in doing what she could for the people she knew

and loved. She loved making her children and grandchildren’s dreams come true.

Cele was the quintessential bargain-hunter. It all began when she’d take the bus by

herself from Jersey City into Manhattan as a young teen. She’d venture into Macy’s,

Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue and never met a bargain she didn’t like. She didn’t

own a piece of clothing she had paid retail for.

Cele is survived by her two daughters, Joanne Apter of Corvallis, Oregon, and Laurie

Soff and her husband Matthew of Plantation, Florida. She leaves behind 4 grandsons:

Zach Apter and his wife Theresa, Simon Apter and his partner Starre Vartan, Jesse

Soff and his wife Katie, and Evan Soff and his wife Maggie. She was the proud greatgrandmother

of Kellen Soff, Julian Soff, Truman Apter, Tatum Apter and Lila Soff.