Sanford Silverman

SANFORD SILVERMAN, Sam age 99, was born in Cleveland, OH on July 7, 1917 to parents Benjamin and Anna (nee Cohen) Silverman. He was the seventh child born into what would become a family of 12; seven boys and five girls. When Sanford died on March 4, 2017 he had outlived all but one of his siblings, Lillian (Leonard) Milder of Cleveland, OH. His other siblings were David, Augusta, Evelyn (Joseph), Marcus, Irving, Sidney, Robert, Maurice, Selma Meyer (Ralph), Charlotte Silverman (all deceased). From age 4 to 17, Sanford and his family lived on a farm in Geneva, OH, part of a Jewish Farmers settlement sponsored by the philanthropist Baron Von Hirsch. His earliest education was in a two-room schoolhouse but he attended and graduated from Glenville High School in 1935. Sanford entered the Army in February 1941 and was in the service as a cook. As part of the Armys 37th Division, he traveled with them into the Northern Solomon Islands campaign. He spent 2 years overseas in Fiji, New Hebrides and Bougainville. When Sanford left the service in 1945, he enrolled at Adelbert College of WRU and earned his Bachelors Degree in 1948 on the GI Bill. Using his degree he became an accountant moving into private practice as a CPA in 1962 until about 1980. While still in college, Sanford met Sonia Gelfand and they married in 1948. Their marriage lasted 51 years until Sonia passed away in 1999. After he recovered from a heart attack in 1970, he became Treasurer and the Secretary of the company that operated the Silvermans stores until his semi-retirement in 1985. Sanford fully retired in 1991. Sanford and Sonia raised six daughters, one of whom died very young. Their daughters are Karin (Asher) Pardo of Holon, Israel, Debra (Kathy Randel) of Boston, Marisa (Alan) Greene of MA, Sivan (Nestor) Sergott of MA, Anna (George) Benedikt of Solon and Binyamina (deceased). Sanford has six surviving grandchildren; Ben (Noa), Hayne (Tomer), Brett (Jessica Dewey), Eric (Dalia Cohen), Joshua (Elyssa), Monica (Danny Barlev) and one deceased grandchild, Roni. He has three great-grandchildren. Sanford has maintained memberships in Bnai Brith, Hadassah, Cleveland Jewish Genealogy Society, and he was co-leader of the Cleveland Heights Chapter of Compassionate Friends for many years, a bereavement organization he and Sonia joined after the murder of their daughter Binyamina in 1980. Sanford enjoyed cooking, flower gardening, travel, writing and genealogy. Services will be held at BERKOWITZ-KUMIN-BOOKATZ MEMORIAL CHAPEL, 1985 S. TAYLOR RD., CLEVELAND HTS., on Wednesday, March 8 at 10 AM. Interment Zion Memorial Park (Jewish War Veterans section). The family will receive friends FOLLOWING BURIAL FROM 2:305 PM at Wiggins Place, 27070 Cedar Rd., Beachwood. The family will then receive WEDNESDAY FROM 79 PM AND THURSDAY FROM 25 PM at the Benedikt residence, 37176 Landings Dr., Solon. Contributions are suggested to the Jewish National Fund (www.jnf.org). To view this service at 2 PM Tuesday please navigate to www.bitly.com/smallchapel