Elya Shif

He was born in 1922 in Slutsk, Belarus to Etka (Gurovich) and Meer Shif.

His father died in an accident when Elya-Israel was 12. His mother was forced to send Elya to Leningrad and entrust his care to her older son Monus.

Suffering from poor vision, Elya-Israel was placed into a boarding school for several years.

During the WWII he was evacuated from blockaded Leningrad in extreme stage of emaciation from starvation.

After return to Leningrad he worked as a production floor instructor for the blind.

In 1950 he married the love of his life Ida Rotman.

His only child Marina was born in 1952.

Elya-Israel enjoyed playing chess and was a very strong player. He knew the history, geography and architecture of Leningrad quite well. He loved gardening at his summer house in the countryside and cooking.

He relocated to the US with his wife in 1983 to reunite with the rest of his family.

He actively participated in raising his two granddaughters Luba and Rebecca.

In 2012 his wife of 62 years Ida, passed away.

He enjoyed bargain shopping, his adult day care facility, long walks, Cape Cod summers, listening to classical music, Russian books on tape and watching Russian television.

He learned English sufficiently enough to carry a basic conversation.

Besides his daughter Marina Chernov and son-in-law Alex (Sasha) Chernov he is survived by granddaughters Luba Sherbansky-Chernov (Oded-Rudi), Rebecca Malinoff (Harrison) and six great-grandchildren: Jonah, Leah, Noah, Adeline, William, Talia and his sister Faina Rokhman and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brothers Monus and Gregory and his sister Polina, He will also be sorely missed by his wife's relatives Ada and Inna Muravnik.