Sylvia Schwartz
1915-2010
Sylvia Schwartz died on December 17, 2010, in her own home as was her firm wish, with the company of loving family. She was 95 years old. As sharp as ever to her last breath, she faced death as bravely as she had confronted the physical failings that accompanied her into her nineties.
She had a lifelong devotion to the arts, a generous spirit, an innate sense of fairness, a strong will, and the courage to act on what she believed was right, whether in politics, the ways of our society, or her interactions with people. Not surprisingly, she found her way into teaching, where she was a beloved math teacher at Stuyvesant High School for 27 years until her retirement. When her husband Frank died at age 66, she mourned, but found love again, traveling the world joyfully and adventurously with Mike — and when he died, she continued her travels with friends.
She outlived many close friends whom she had known for decades, but stayed in contact with their children, and made new friends wherever she went, whatever she did. For those she loved — her family and friends — she always found the time, put in the effort, made the journey.
Like her husband, she was a musician, although she never followed it as a profession as he did, and she continued to go to concerts even after her hearing was severely impaired — because life without music was unthinkable.
As blindness encroached, she did everything possible to eke out the last slivers of vision, and somehow managed to play out her bridge hands with her dear bridge partners.
May we all play out the hands we are dealt as well as she did.