Selma Cherkas Snider

WORCESTER - Selma Cherkas Snider (nee Kaplan) died peacefully in her sleep at Oriol Health Care in Holden MA on January 2, 2023. She was 97 years old.

Selma was born on February 28, 1925 at Lynn Lying-in Hospital in Lynn, MA. She was the oldest of five children born to Samuel and Lillian (Hymanson) Kaplan who were from Goldingen now Kuldiga outside of Riga, Latvia. She had a brother and sister who were twins: Seymour (Sy) and Rachel (Rae), a brother Irwin and a younger brother Jerome (Jerry).

Her family moved to New York City when she was two and lived in Brooklyn and in Queens. Her father had a shoe repair business. She loved growing up in Jamaica Queens which she described as an ethnically diverse neighborhood. She attended PS 95 in Queens and then went to Jamaica High School. When she was 15, her life changed drastically. Her beloved grandmother Esther Malka died of stomach cancer in Lynn, MA and then her father died precipitously of a brain tumor. Her mother needed family support so the family moved back to Lynn, MA. Selma lived with her beloved Zadie Philip Hymanson, who was an undertaker in Lynn - the first Jewish undertaker on the North Shore of Boston. Her siblings lived with other family members.

Selma graduated from Lynn Classical High School and briefly attended Salem State Teachers College. When she was 21, she became an orphan when her mother died of a reaction to a sulfa drug taken for pneumonia. When World War Two broke out, Selma went to Washington DC and worked at the Pentagon as a secretary for a year. She returned to Lynn and enrolled at Leland Powers School for Radio and Theater and earned an Associate's degree. She then moved back to New York City where she initially worked for the New York Heart Association and became disillusioned with how the money was being allocated. She took a job as a medical secretary in the office of Dr. Wexler, a prominent ophthalmologist on the east side of Manhattan.

When she was 28, she made a reservation at a resort in New Hampshire for singles. When she arrived in Lynn at her aunt Goldie Hymanson's house, she discovered that her reservation was cancelled. Goldie wracked her brain for a date for Selma. She remembered that her custom drape installer, Myer Cherkas in Malden, MA had a nephew who was a doctor. He indeed was still a bachelor at age 40. Selma went on a blind date meeting him at a hotel lobby in Boston. She got married to Dr. Benjamin Cherkas a year later and moved back to Newton, MA. Benjamin was a General Practitioner but he returned to study and completed his residency in anesthesia and became an anesthesiologist. He got a job in Worcester as Chief of Anesthesiology at Fairlawn Hospital.

Selma lived in Worcester since 1960 for 62 years in the same house. She had three children Linda, Elise (Leigh) and Philip. After living in Worcester for six months, Benjamin as a physician diagnosed himself with pancreatic cancer and died six months later at age 50. Selma became a young widow at 37 with three children, ages seven, four and two. She had no family in Worcester, no outside job and no driver's license, but somehow she managed. Selma went back to college at nearby Assumption College which only admitted men but women could attend at night. She received a Bachelor's degree in Education and was a practice teacher in Spanish. She also received her certification to teach children with special needs and administer the Weschler IQ test. She then earned a Master’s degree in English literature.

Five years later, after her first husband died, she was introduced by a mutual friend to a second husband Irving Snider. He was a recent widower with no children. He sold his home filled with antiques and moved in with Selma and her three children. Selma always said she was married to two MD’s - a Medical Doctor and a Meat Dealer! Unfortunately, after five years, Irving was diagnosed with chronic leukemia and was sick for five years. He died at age 70 and Selma was widowed a second time at age 51.

She did many things in her life. She worked as a volunteer in Worcester working with Jewish Russian refugee resettlement and also at Rachel's table, a food bank. She was a volunteer at the Worcester Art Museum. She was active in Hadassah, ORT, National Council of Jewish Women and served on the board of the Zionist Organization of America. In Worcester, she owned a gift shop in her own home, Gifts Unlimited, gave private speech lessons, became a travel agent and worked for Sullivan Travel. She worked for Digital and also organized special events at University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Selma's interests were wide and varied. She loved family, friends and food, in that order. She loved cooking and entertaining. She compiled a celebrity cookbook, “Dining with Celebrities”, which was published by Charles E. Tuttle in Japan. She loved traveling, she went to Europe, Asia, North Africa, Israel, Jordan and even Cuba before Castro. She loved the arts, movies, theater, opera and concerts. Selma loved books and reading especially nonfiction biographies of the movie stars. She was an active member of Congregation Beth Israel in Worcester where she was a member for 62 years. She made many lifelong friends there.

She loved her family, most especially her three children, 6 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. She was so proud of their accomplishments. She is predeceased by her granddaughter Kayla Rae. Selma remained living independently in her own home until four months before she died. That was due to her devoted dedicated son Philip who was her primary caregiver and his wife Pam and son Isaiah who made that all possible. Selma appreciated all of her caregivers, especially her neighbor and friend Robin Blyden.

Selma is survived by her brother Sy in Atlanta, GA, her three children Philip and Pam Cherkas of Worcester, Leigh Cherkas of Longmeadow, Linda Cherkas and Chaim Dworkin, her six grandchildren Binyamin Moshe and Rachel of Jerusalem Israel, Bension Dworkin and Gwen Gordon in San Diego, Elisheva and David Kadosh and Akiva and Tova Dworkin in Philadelphia, Isaiah Cherkas and Holli Selman in Falls Church and Korben Cherkas-Clark in Longmeadow, MA and 15 great grandchildren.

Selma’s family and friends will gather to honor her life at her Funeral Service at 1:00 PM on Thursday, January 5 at Congregation Beth Israel, 15 Jamesbury Drive, Worcester. Interment will follow at B’nai Brith Cemetery, 55 St. John’s Road, Worcester. Memorial Observance will be announced at the service. Arrangements are under the care of Miles Funeral Home of Holden.

Selma lived a long, amazing and remarkable life. She lived life to its fullest and was resilient and strong. Contributions can be made to Congregation Beth Israel, 15 Jamesbury Drive, Worcester, MA 01609, Rachel's Table, 633 Salisbury Street, Worcester, MA 01609, or Jewish National Fund, 78 Randall Avenue, Rockville Centre, NY 11570.