Obituary of Della Speckman

Della June Speckman February 17, 1935 to May 25, 2013 Della passed away on May 25th, 2013 at age 78. She is now resting peacefully at Mount Eden Cemetery in Hawthorne, N.Y. She is survived by her husband, Seymour ("Sy") Speckman, whom she married in 1959. They had two children: Stuart Speckman, residing in Fairfield, CT, and Emily (Speckman) Nossan, residing in Ridgefield, CT. They had three grandchildren, whom she loved dearly: Drew Speckman, Hannah Rose Nossan, and Kory Nossan. Della was a forty year resident of Larchmont, NY, and a lifelong New Yorker. In recent years she lived at Atria Senior Living and the King Street Nursing Home, both in Rye Brook, NY. She had been a member of Larchmont Temple for nearly forty years. Della's parents were Julius Bailin, a physician, and Rose (Handleman) Bailin, a teacher. She grew up in the Bronx, near Yankee Stadium, and was a lifelong Yankee fan. She graduated from Columbia University with a master's degree in speech pathology. Della was kind, happy, and fun. She had many friends and showed a sincere interest in the lives of her family, friends and neighbors. She loved classical music and opera. For nearly thirty years, she worked for the NY Philharmonic in administrative positions. She knew well Leonard Bernstein, Zuben Mehta, and other pillars of classical music. She and Sy went to Lincoln Center frequently. Della also loved animals, from whales to guinea pigs, and everywhere in between. From her teenaged years though adulthood, she cared for many animals, conventional and otherwise: a monkey, alligator, white rats, many baby raccoons, possums, crows, frogs, squirrels, and many other critters. Her favorites were Siami the cat and Bali the cat, who lived to 18 and 17, respectively. She is now in heaven, with her beloved parents, Julius and Rose Bailin…and Siami and Bali the cats. Donations in her honor may be made to the Rye Nature Center (in Rye, N.Y.) and to the American Diabetes Association.