Sherman ('Shike' R.) Gershman

Sherman ‘Shike’ R. Gershman, 87 years of age, of West Hartford, CT passed away on Friday, June 9, 2017. Shike was the loving husband of Adele (Keizerstein) Gershman. Born in Hartford, CT, he was the son of the late Benjamin and Bessie (Burres) Gershman and predeceased by his brother Jerome Gershman.

All who knew Shike will remember his warmth and his pun-filled sense of humor. He was forever a storyteller, tracing family history across generations, with tales of his father Benny’s grocery store and Zayde Ike’s butcher shop. All will remember Shike’s commitment to his lifelong-profession, passion, and endless source of learning - pharmacy: He knew every customer at his corner drugstore, listened to every patient in the hospital, and treated all with dignity.
Sherman graduated from the UConn School of Pharmacy in 1951, owned Foster Heights Pharmacy for 33 years, and then moved into hospital pharmacy at WWII Veterans’ Memorial Hospital in Meriden, UConn Health Center and The Hebrew Home and Hospital. In addition, he was consulting pharmacist and volunteer with many local organizations, including HARC, West Hartford Health Dept. Committee on Bioterrorism, and Migrant Farm Worker Health Clinics where he mentored students. He served as a member of the board of directors of UConn Pharmacy Alumni Association and a member of the Connecticut Pharmacists’ Association Student Liaison Committee.

During retirement, he delighted in his adjunct professorship at UConn in Storrs, where he mentored hundreds of pharmacy students. He was awarded the Bowl of Hygeia, one of the most prestigious national pharmacy awards for community service. Sherman was the President of his college fraternity AZO and Rho Chi honor society and President of the Hartford County Pharmaceutical Association.
In addition to his devoted and loving wife Adele of fifty years, he is survived by the Gershman children: Eliot with wife Ivy; Jay with wife Nancy; Donna; and his daughter with Adele, Jaime. Also by the Kalin children: Diane with husband Craig Leon; Edward; Peter with wife Mindy; Matthew; Daniel; and Sari with husband Mike Riccuiti. And he is survived by his beloved grandchildren Haley, Emily, Jordan and Jenna Gershman; Nikki Leon; and Rory, Tyler and Jake Kalin. He leaves his nephew Harris Gershman and wife Sari, nieces Cindy Gershman and Carrie Mitchell, and their children, Rachel and Ben Gershman, Ben Murphy and Jacob Moeller, and Casey and Jesse Mitchell.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, June 12, 2017 at 1:00 pm in the Sanctuary of Beth El Temple, 2626 Albany Ave., West Hartford, CT with Rabbi James Rosen officiating. Interment will follow in the Beth El Temple Cemetery, 51 Jackson St., Avon, CT. Immediately following the interment, the family will receive relatives and friends at Beth El with Mincha to follow at 4:00 pm. Tuesday, Shiva will be observed at the home of Jay and Nancy Gershman from 5 to 8pm with service at 7:30pm. You are welcome to join the family in attending the 7:30 pm service at Beth El on Wednesday. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the University of Connecticut Foundation, Storrs CT 06269 noting the Sherman R Gershman ‘51 scholarship fund or the Solomon Schechter Day School. Arrangements are entrusted to Weinstein Mortuary, Hartford, CT. For further information, directions or to sign the guest book for Shike, please visit online at www.weinsteinmortuary.com/funerals.cfm

Service Date: 01/01/1970