June 29, 1908 - March 15, 2007
Robert S. Hellman, 98, died peacefully on March 15, 2007, at Cortland Manor, NY. Born in New York City to Abraham and Sarah Hellman, he was married for 47 years to Adelaide Leifer Hellman, with whom he is pictured above in 1964, and who predeceased him in 1984. He is survived by his sons and their wives Howard and Carol of Somers, NY, Martin and Dorothie of Stanford, CA, and Stephen and Mary of Clinton, CT; and by his brothers Charles of Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, and Benjamin of Roslyn, NY. He will also be missed by his seven grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren, and his close friend Theresa Pedicone of Yorktown Heights, NY.
Rob, as he was known to his many friends, taught physics and chemistry for over thirty years at New York City high schools. He served as an officer in the United States Army during World War II and continued to serve in the Army Reserves, eventually retiring with the rank of Major.
He grew up in the Bronx and raised his own family there, moving with his wife to Yorktown Heights in 1978. He was active in community affairs as Editor of the Yorktown Senior Sentinel for many years, and as a member of the Yorktown Rotary Club.
His outgoing manner earned him a large circle of friends, ranging in age from the very young to, as he put it, the somewhat more mature. To Rob, no one was old.
He was blessed to live independently in Yorktown Heights until December 2006, when declining health forced a move to The Seabury's assisted living facility in Cortland Manor. Even then he managed an upbeat attitude, often charming the staff with renditions of his favorite song, "You Are My Sunshine." The last line says "Please don't take my sunshine away," and while Rob's physical presence may have left us, his spirit lives on and we will not let his sunshine go away.
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