Simona (Dulzer) Szafran
Born 8/3/1935 in Bucharest, Romania RM
Died 10/23/2016 in Las Vegas, NV

 Holocaust Survivor 
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Simona Szafran passed away peacefully on October 23 in Las Vegas at the Nathan Adelson Hospice, receiving wonderful care from her husband and from the Hospices dedicated staff. Her husband, Daniel, had been giving her loving 24-7 care for more than the past year. Born on May 3, 1935, in Bucharest, Romania, Simona was the oldest daughter of Bernard and Clara (Lupu) Dulzer. Simona\'s surviving family includes her older brother, Reuven Avihai and her two younger sisters, Shulamit Ronen and Dina Rubin, as well as her husband Daniel, their children Zvi (and wife Jill Goldstein) and Drorit (and wife Suzanne Cotton), and grandson Mark.
As a girl, Simona was an excellent student in many subjects, but she always especially loved languages. It was an almost impossible time to be a student-she was four years old when World War II began. The family was then caught up in the whirlwind of the Holocaust. At the height of the war, the school she attended had to go underground. When the children wanted to quit school due to the hardships and danger, her mother Clara would have none of it-she insisted that they keep studying. When the children said "We may die tomorrow", Clara said "Then you\'ll die educated." Even in these most horrible of times, Simona saw the goodness of strangers who tried to help. After the war, she won a scholarship to the Chemical Technical High School in Bucharest.
Simona and her family emigrated to Israel in 1950. In 1953 while at a party, she met Daniel Szafran, an Auschwitz survivor who had immigrated to Palestine after WWII, joined the underground army and then fought in Israels War of Independence. After a whirlwind courtship, three months later on August 9, they were married. They were the most loving couple ever, in a romance that lasted 63 years. Their son Zvi was born in 1955 and daughter Drorit in 1957. Their grandchild Mark was born in 1984.
In 1959, the family moved to Syracuse so Daniel could be together with his brother Nathan, who had settled there earlier. As the children grew up, Simona later returned to school, earning an A.A. Degree from OCC, and a B.A. in Modern Languages and M.Ed. in Secondary Education from SUNY Cortland. Simona taught French in the Syracuse public schools for a year, and then taught 1st and 2nd grade at the Syracuse Hebrew Day School from 1975 until retiring in 2001. She leaves a legacy of more than 1000 students who adored her.
After retirement, Daniel and Simona lived in Las Vegas during the winter months and Syracuse as the weather got warmer. Each spring, they would drive cross-country to see their children, and then to Syracuse to spend the summer with their friends. When Zvi became president of SUNY Canton in 2014, they bought a house together and spent the warmer months there.
All will always remember her as the vibrant, loving, and brilliant woman she was, who gave her children their love of chemistry, helping others, music, education, and teaching. She is now reunited with her beloved parents in heaven, listening and dancing while her father sings and plays the guitar, waiting patiently and watching over her family until it will be their time to join her. Rest In Peace, Simona Szafran.
Funeral services will be promptly at 1PM on Sunday October 30 at Sisskind Funeral Chapel. 3175 E. Genesee Street. Burial will be in Beth El Cemetery. Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the Syracuse Hebrew Day School. A scholarship endowment in her name will be established at SUNY Canton. Shiva will be observed at Zvi and Jill\'s home in Canton.
sisskindfuneralservice.com

Date of Death: October 23, 2016
 
Burial Location
A189