Shirley A. Hershkowitz

January 15, 1924 - July 22, 2017

Shirley A. Hershkowitz, 93, died on July 22, 2017 in La Mirada, California following a short illness during which she showed great courage and spunk. She is survived by her loving son Eric Hershkowitz, and his wife Fran, and daughters Joan Fraley, Diane Hershkowitz, and Lisa Levin and her husband Steve, along with her cherished grandchildren Madeleine, Shaina and Brian Levin.

Shirley was born on January 15, 1924 in Southampton, England during the great European migration, to parents David and Florence Arons of Lithuania. At the age of two, she sailed with her family to the U.S. on the White Star Lines’ ship, the Majestic. Shirley, her parents, her brothers George and Harry, and sister Josephine, all now deceased, lived in Newark, New Jersey. She became a U.S. citizen in 1944 and married Bernard Hillard Hershkowitz in 1945. Bernie was a navigator in the U.S. Army Air Corps and served bravely in WWII. He worked as an engineer for North American Rockwell and died in 1987.

Shirley and family lived in Downey, California since 1956, where she was a member of Temple Ner Tamid, and was active as a volunteer at Downey Community Hospital, a Friend of the Downey City Library and a member of the Stonewood Mall Walkers. Shirley loved music of all styles and she had the greenest of thumbs. She never left the house without looking like a million bucks and was quick to endear herself to others with a wry quip or a sweet compliment. Shirley will be dearly missed by her family and friends.