Sherry Shifra Gold

GOLD, Sherry Shifra (nee Gerber), 92 years old of Fair Lawn, NJ, formerly of Teaneck and West Orange, passed away April 6, 2019. Sherry was born in Utiyan, Lithuania, to Nechama (nee Meerovitz) Rogov and Yehuda Rogov Gerber on August 13, 1926. Her mother died when she was 3, just two years after her father embarked on a journey to scope out the United States in hopes of resettling the family. Sherry stayed with relatives in Lithuania and Poland until she was 11 and survived harrowing trips across those borders. Then in November 1937, she was reunited with her father after arriving in New York City aboard the RMS Aquitania. Shortly after, her father married Ethel Gendel and Sherry soon became a big sister. Sherry grew up in New Jersey, where she was active in sports and youth groups, and worked at her father's Montclair candy store -- from where she developed a lifelong sweet tooth. Sherry graduated from Ohio University and later earned a Master's in Social Work from the Wurzweiler School at Yeshiva University. In 1950, she married Melvin L. Gold and they moved to Israel for several years. When they returned, they eventually settled in West Orange, and Sherry began a long social work career during which she was the director of a local nursery school and a therapist at Jewish Family Services in both Millburn and Wayne. Sherry was always full of spunk and energy. She spent every waking moment playing a sport, going to a cultural event, trying new experiences, engaging in thoughtful conversation, meeting new people, or traveling the world. She was a talented tennis player who also loved the rush of downhill skiing and the exhilaration of water skiing -- and relished teaching her children and grandchildren to follow in her athletic pursuits. She and Mel also delighted in sailing on Bantam Lake, Ct., where they summered for more than half a century before his passing in 2014. They had been married for 64 years and during that time, they shared an appetite for living, learning, exploration, and activity. Sherry is survived by her four children – Charles of New York, N.Y., and his wife, Anne Kohn; Neil of Fair Lawn, N.J.; Ronald of Saddle River, N.J., and his wife, Betsy August Gold; and Nina of Fair Lawn, N.J., and her husband, Raviv Ron; her seven grandchildren -- Stephanie, Jacqueline, Alexandra, Samuel, and Jacob Gold, and Avital and Maya Ron; and her sister, Charlotte Gerber Turner. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to three causes that Sherry supported in her philanthropy: Jewish Association for Developmental Disabilities, 50 Eisenhower Drive, Paramus, NJ, 07652; Young Judaea, 575 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY, 10018; and The National Yiddish Theatre -- Folksbiene, 36 Battery Pl., New York, NY 10280.