From Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home & Crematory
Shirley May Piercey Berger, 100, Vero Beach
April 18, 2021
Shirley May Piercey Berger, age 100, of Vero Beach, passed away on April 18, 2021 at VNA Hospice House.
She was born in London, Ontario, Canada and moved from Farmington, Michigan, to Vero Beach in the 1970s.
Shirley was an Air Raid Warden in World War II and obtained her Associate degree from Highland Park Junior College, Highland Park, Michigan.
A member of Community Church of Vero Beach, Shirley enjoyed volunteering at Vero Beach Elementary School and Our Father’s Table Soup Kitchen.
Survivors include her three daughters, Sheila Rice of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ellen Hynson of Honolulu, Hawaii, and Beth Lieberman of Vero Beach: seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
In 2005, Shirley was predeceased by her husband, Harris Berger of Vero Beach, after 63 years of marriage.
Memorial contributions in her name, may be made to Our Father’s Table Soup Kitchen, PO Box 6114, Vero Beach, Florida 32961.
From Strunk Funeral Homes & Crematory
Robert Joseph Landsman, 92, Vero Beach
December 23, 1928 – April 18, 2021
Robert Joseph Landsman, age 92, passed away peacefully in his Vero Beach, Florida home on April 18, 2021.
Bob was born on December 23, 1928 in New York to William and Della Rose Landsman and grew up with his older brother, Richard Landsman, in Woodmere, New York. Bob attended the newly created School of Industrial and Labor Relations of Cornell University where he was in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. In 1956, Bob graduated from New York University School of Law and went on to practice labor law for forty years in the private, public, and educational sectors.
Bob married his wife of nearly sixty years, Doris Claire Landsman, nee Sansoucy, after meeting in the summer of 1961 on Fire Island when Doris was a stewardess for Pan American Airways. They raised their daughters, Deborah and Jennifer, first in Roslyn, NY, then in Webster, NY and later in New Canaan, CT.
Most of Bob’s career in private practice was with Xerox Corporation as Labor Counsel and later as Director of Corporate Industrial Relations in the Industrial Relations department. One of his more memorable assignments took him to Alaska for several weeks one summer to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement where he and his colleagues played baseball under the midnight sun.
While working for Xerox, Bob became an Adjunct Professor of Cornell University teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Together with Dean Harry Katz, he founded the Cornell Institute of Industrial Relations and served as its Executive Director.
In his later years, Bob was appointed to the American Arbitration Association and was named by the Governor of Connecticut to serve on the State Arbitration Board where he resolved contract settlements between the teachers’ union and the Board of Education.
As accomplished as Bob was professionally, perhaps his real calling was in “show biz” as a stand-up comedian. He brought laughs to every conversation, whether with a joke, a story, or a timely Broadway show tune. With his ability to impersonate celebrities and adopt multiple accents, Bob had perfect comedic timing and always had his audience in stitches. Who could forget his debonair, French-accented rendition of “Thank Heaven For Little Girls” at his daughters’ weddings or the countless times he held court with a room full of friends and family telling joke after joke? His sense of humor and ability to make people laugh was Bob’s true gift right up to his final days.
Bob was an avid golfer and long time member of the Indian River Country Club. He instilled in his daughters a love of skiing from their first days on the snow at HoliMont and Greek Peak in upstate New York. Bob also loved to read, play cribbage, and discuss politics and current events.
Bob leaves behind his devoted wife, Doris, beloved daughters Deborah Parker and Jennifer Chobor, close friend and son-in-law John Chobor, four grandchildren, Nicholas Chobor, Isabel Chobor, Jacob Parker and Paige Parker, loving brother Richard Landsman, niece Betsy Landsman and nephew Sam Landsman.
A funeral service and burial will be held on May 21 at 11:30 a.m at Westchester Hills Cemetery, 400 Saw Mill River Road, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that remembrances be made in the form of donations to VNA (Visiting Nurse Association, 1110 35th Lane, Vero Beach, FL 32960) who took such good care of Bob in his final days.