Obituary: Norman B. Silverstein - Atlanta Jewish Times

Norman B. Silverstein died peacefully on Aug. 20, 2024, in Dunwoody, Ga., a few weeks shy of his 90th birthday.

Born on Sept. 13,1934, in Brooklyn, N.Y., to parents, Irving (Jesse) and Lillian Silverstein, Norman grew up in a tight knit family, alongside his baby brother, Ronnie, and next door to his aunt, uncle and cousins. A proud Brooklynite and baseball enthusiast, Norman’s sole disappointment in his otherwise happy childhood occurred when the Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles.

Norman met his future wife Diane at a mutual friend’s sweet sixteen party, and upon graduating high school, he proudly served in the U.S. Army before returning home to marry Diane and study business at City College. Norman found success in the corporate world, ultimately taking an executive position at a large Florida-based citrus company. In 1972, the family relocated from the chilly Northeast to sunny Miami, where snow shovels were no longer required. Norman was then transferred to Tampa, and finally Sarasota in 1978, where Norm and Diane remained until 2022. Norman often travelled internationally for his job, among the most memorable of his trips was to Israel where he surveyed orange groves near Tel Aviv alongside former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Later in his career, Norman became a successful certified business broker, served as SCORE mentor, and was a longtime treasurer of his HOA.

Norman possessed a wonderful sense of humor and a friendly and outgoing nature. Within minutes of meeting him, you would likely learn that he hailed from Brooklyn, attended Lincoln High School, loved chocolate (he shared a birthday with Milton Hershey!), was a military veteran, enjoyed meals at First Watch, drove only Lexus cars, and favored flying on Delta (they sent him a birthday card every year). You would also learn that he was a sports fan, as evidenced by his signature Braves cap which he wore every day, along with a crisp Brooks Brothers shirt and khaki pants. Norman was a Broadway, big band/Frank Sinatra music and film aficionado who could sing all the lyrics to any musical, knew every word of dialog from “Casablanca” (the best movie ever made), and could recite Abbott and Costello’s entire “Who’s on First” comedy routine verbatim. Norman was a proud fitness devotee and enjoyed running, racquetball, hand grip exercises, pushups, and later, mall walking, always making time for a pit stop at Starbucks, where all the baristas knew his name.

Paramount to all the facets and interests in Norman’s life was his love for his family. “We have the best family! Everyone gets along!” he often said, and it was true, largely because Norman passed along his own nuclear family’s legacy of love and harmony to the next generations. Norman was the quintessential hands-on dad, grandfather and great-grandfather, always willing to get on his hands and knees to engage with the kids. He had a talent for making an authentic train whistle sound between his hands, a trick that never failed to wow his toddler crowd. Dad shared his deep sense of patriotism, love of music, books (mostly espionage and legal thrillers), theatre, sports, strong code of ethics, and business acumen with his family, cultivating individual relationships with each family member, keeping up with their school, sports, careers and hobbies, attending concerts and countless children’s theatre productions, always proclaiming, in a not-so-subtle whisper, that his grandchildren stole the show. It was not uncommon to receive late night texts from Norman regarding the Braves/Rays/Bolts games, complete with appropriate emojis. Norman relished celebrating family milestones, always beaming with pride as he recited blessings over the wine and challah.

Norman was fond of quoting from baseball great Lou Gehrig’s famous retirement speech, “…I consider myself the luckiest man on earth.” And surely, all of us whose lives Norman touched consider ourselves to be pretty darn lucky, too.

Norman was preceded in death by his son, Lee Silverstein, and is survived by his loving wife of 68 years, Diane, beloved brother, Ronnie Silverstein (Claire), daughters, Layla Berger (Brian) and Marjie Shindler (Norman), daughters-in-law, Linda Mann and Lynn Silverstein, grandchildren, Andrew Silverstein (Kelli), Daniel Berger (Alison) Elliot Silverstein (Molly), Greg Berger ( Elana), Ryan Shindler, Adam Shindler (fiancé Mary DuBose), and the apple of his eye, Carly Shindler. Norman is also survived by his great-grandchildren, Nora Silverstein, Teddy and Lily Silverstein, and Jace, Jordyn, and Blake Berger. He also leaves behind sisters-in-law, Lorraine Lester, and Annette Fidler, as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta 770-451-4999.

comments