Sylvia Ruth Handler (nee Levin), died on May 28, 2016 at El Cajon, CA at Lexington House. She was 95. Sylvia was born November 21, 1920 in Buffalo, New York to Frieda (nee Herzog) and Morris Levin, DDS., attended Washington High School and graduated with Honors in 1938. Sylvia went on to attend the Buffalo Business School, working for Sears Roebuck and Company in the Auditing Department, until volunteering for the Navy in 1943. Sylvia completed U.S. Naval Training School in New York City and then served as the Assistant to the Brooklyn Naval Base Commander rising to the rank of Yeoman First Class but preferred to be thought of as a Chief Petty Officer until her discharge in February 1946. Sylvia was very proud of her service to the Navy and kept her dog tags and insignias her entire life.
Sylvia was an active member of Hadassah at Temple Beth Shalom in Park Forest, Illinois where she helped co-author a cookbook, then moved to Southern California in 1962, where she became an active member of Temple Beth Emet in Anaheim. She served as a movie critic for the Orange County Register and eventually finished her professional career as a Librarian Assistant for the Anaheim Unified School District in Southern California in 1985.
Sylvia married Irving Menkin (died October 2006) of Chicago, Illinois in June 1946 and divorced in1976. Together, Sylvia and Irving had three children, Harlan (Deborah Amerling, partner and living in California), Gary (married to Naomi and living in Florida), and Maureen (married to Lane Opkins and living in California with a grandchild Jack). Sylvia was also proud to be an Aunt to her nephews Richard Akers (married to Marlene in Waukegan, Illinois) and Howard Wallen (married to Marge in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida), and communicated regularly with her cousins Ron and Rena Bahrmasel in Arizona.
Sylvia remarried in 1978 to Jack Handler (died November 1995) and settled in Laguna Hills, CA where she became active in local activities until moving to San Diego in 1998.
Sylvia's greatest hobbies were crossword puzzles, checkers, and poetry, having written more than 300 hundred poems and being one of a small number of amateur contributors to the "Put a Dodge in Your Garage" advertising slogan in 1958 with her " Dodge" version of a " A Night Before Christmas (...Twas the Night Before Christmas and all through the Garage not a creature was stirring not even the Dodge..." Shiva was held at Harlan and Deborah’s home in El Cajon.
Sylvia is interned at Harbor Lawn-Mt. Olive Memorial Park in Costa Mesa in the Temple Beth Emet section next to her second husband Jack and near her beloved mother Frieda.
Mom’s friends and caretakers at Lexington House added these comments: Sylvia joined the community of Lexington House in January 2013 and quickly became a beloved resident. She was always ready with a fascinating story or a witty comment to share. Her sense of humor and concern for others lit up the lives of those she interacted with and she will be remembered fondly by staff and residents alike.