Ellie Gelman died January 27 at her home, surrounded by her sons

Charles and Peter, daughter-in-law Sophie and husband, Eric.

Her sister Sherry Polen and nephews Benjamin and David , too,

always had a very special place in her heart.

Simon and Mila Salholz, Ellie’s parents, were holocaust survivors

who met in a displaced persons camp after the war. Growing up a

child of survivors was something that shaped her entire life, as it did

for so many.

She was raised as Eloise Salholz in Queens and attended Hunter

College High School—another defining experience—where she

developed a sense of confidence in her intellect and met some

young women who would be friends for life.

After graduating from Yale, she went to work in the letters

department at Newsweek. The department kept a file of ‘chronics’

who were constantly sending in complaints about coverage of one

story or another. She always said she imagined her father was one

of them.

In fourteen years at Newsweek Ellie covered religion, fashion, and

national news, and wrote award-winning cover stories on women’s

issues—and met Eric. But she had always longed to go back to

school to pursue something more deeply, and after giving birth to

Charles and Peter, she found her calling.

She enrolled in the PhD program in clinical psychology at City

College, and did her analytic training at the Psychoanalytic

Association of New York. As a therapist, she devoted herself

tirelessly to her patients’ well-being, and was heartbroken when

illness forced her to close her practice.

Always a city girl, Ellie moved with great reluctance to Larchmont,

New York in 1996. She didn’t have a driver’s license, and really

didn’t know how to drive. Despite a rocky start, she grew to love the

community and made lasting friendships here. And she finally got to

have dogs…raising Goldens Annie, Maddie, Lily and the

irrepressible rescue dog Lacey, who is still with us.

Over the years she developed an abiding attachment to the

Berkshire foothills of southwestern Massachusetts, which became a

place of refuge for her, where, above all, she cherished spending

time with her family and friends. She knew t house she wanted as

soon as she saw it in a book of real estate listings we picked up at

Guido’s, and she made it her own. It became a sanctuary during the

pandemic and her illness. Even in her last days, she continued

tinkering with the art and light fixtures for what came to be known

as her “dream kitchen.”

After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July, 2022, Ellie

was determined to make the most of whatever time remained to

her. The most important part of that to her was being fully present

to her family and close friends. With the fierce diligence she

brought to everything, she avoided the pitfalls of bitterness and self-

pity, remaining as upbeat as possible under the extremely arduous

circumstances and always remembering to be grateful for the good

things in her life. In this and so many other things, she was an

inspiration to her family and friends.

She was generous, empathic, and always thoughtful. All that she

did for her friends, her colleagues, and her family, she did with

sensitivity to and painstaking regard for that person's individuality.

We love her and miss her.

Funeral Service will be Wednesday January 31, 2024 10:00 AM at Larchmont Temple 75 Larchmont Ave. Larchmont, NY 10538.

Interment will follow at Mt. Eden Cemetery 20 Commerce Street Hawthorne, NY 10532