Pauline Finkelstein Scher

Paula Finkelstein Scher, wife, mother, and grandmother, age 94, died peacefully on November 23, 2012 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The daughter of Charles and Jenny Finkelstein, Paula was born in 1918 and grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina with her siblings Milton, Horty, and Shirley. Paula enjoyed dance, ballet, tap and acrobatics. She attended primary and high school in Wilmington and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, then known as Women’s College.

In 1942, Paula met her husband Harold Scher from Newark, New Jersey, when he was stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina shortly before World War II began. The couple married in l941 and moved to Greensboro in 1954. They had a long and happy marriage of 56 years. The couple were among the founders of Beth David synagogue in Greensboro and were lifelong members of the synagogue. While raising four children, Paula was also an active member of Beth David Synagogue and Hadassah.

One of Paula’s most long-lasting contributions to the Greensboro community was the establishment of her nursery school, Mrs. Scher’s School for Young Children. For more than twenty years, her nursery school provided a loving, learning environment for hundreds of children. At her school, Paula shared her love of music and storytelling with the children who gathered around her nursery school’s purple piano to sing and dance. Paula’s sweetness and lively sense of humor endeared her to all who knew her.

Special thanks to Paula’s caregivers and the staff at the Heritage in Raleigh who have provided a warm and welcoming environment. They have lovingly cared for her for the last five years.

Paula is survived by her sister Shirley and by her children Linda, Dena,

Michael, and Alice and by her nine grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.

Donations can be made to a charity of your choice.