Sylvia W. Marcus

MARCUS, SYLVIA W.: Age 93, formerly of Norwalk, Connecticut. On Friday, September 21, 2012; She was the beloved wife of the late Jeremy Marcus, former Deputy Clerk Norwalk Superior Court. Mrs. Marcus was born in Norwich, Connecticut on August 31, 1919, the daughter of the late Zalman and Annie Wener. During the Depression she moved from Norwich where she had attended the Norwich Free Academy to New York City where she attended Washington Irving High School. She attended the University of Indiana and was a graduate of Brooklyn College. For many years she lived in the Lower East Side housing apartment complex know as Knickerbocker Village which was the first housing complex in New York to receive federal funding. She met her husband, who adored her, at Knickerbocker Village and married him in December of 1940. She often related the story of how she found herself riding with her baby carriage in the elevator with fellow Knickerbocker Village resident and alleged atomic spy, Ethel Rosenberg, and her baby carriage. She moved to Norwalk in the late 1940s and lived on Ward Street for more than 50 years. She taught first grade, second grade and reading for more than 30 years at Brookside School. She was well known for her annual Mother’s Day class project of collecting recipes from her students’ mothers and publishing them in a cookbook called “Mummies Yummies.”  She loved telling stories about listening to Franklin D. Roosevelt on the radio and about Harry Truman whom she saw when he made one of his famous whistle stops in South Norwalk during the 1948 presidential campaign. In her early years in Norwalk she was a member of the National Council of Jewish Women and worked on their aide to the foreign born program. She enjoyed taking classes at Norwalk Community College in art and Spanish and was an avid painter, cook, knitter and quilter. She was a member of Temple Beth El and the Norwalk Jewish Community Center. She was predeceased by her husband, Jeremy Marcus. Mrs. Marcus is survived by a daughter, Flora Berkun and son-in-law, Rabbi Alvin K. Berkun  of Pittsburgh, a son, Judge Walter Marcus and daughter-in-law, Mary G. Marcus of Tucson, Arizona; grandchildren, Elizabeth Friedman of New Jersey, Rabbi Jonathan Berkun of Florida, Rebecca Hilyer of Pennsylvania, Megan Marcus of New York City, Zoe Marcus of New York City; and eight great-grandchildren. She is also survived by sisters-in-law, Dorothy Wener and Rose Marcus. She was also predeceased by her sisters, Bessie Weissman, Fay Levin, Ella Levine, and a brother, David Wener. Graveside Service and Interment were held at Beth El Memorial Park. Norwalk, Connecticut. Rabbi Jonathan Berkun, Sylvia W. Marcus’ grandson, officiated. The family requests in lieu of flowers being sent that a contribution be made to a charity of your choosing. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. www.schugar.com.