Mrs. Shirley Dennis

December 5, 1925 - September 18, 2020

Shirley Dennis Obituary December 5, 1925-September 18, 2020 Shirley Dennis was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan on December 5, 1925 to Isidore and Sadie Tepper. A graduate of Seward Park High School, Shirley first worked as a secretary in the garment industry. She married Jonas (Joe) Dennis in 1948 and they had two sons, Bruce and Mitchell (Mitch). Joe’s premature death at 26 left Shirley a 25-year-old widow with a three-year old and three-month old child. They soon went to live with Shirley’s widowed father, Isidore Tepper, who helped provide and care for the family until his own death in 1987. Shirley initially returned to work as a school secretary at P.S. 221, where both of her sons attended school. For the next 20 years, Shirley worked as an executive secretary at Merrill Lynch and eventually ended her professional career as the administrator for the Brooklyn Therapy Center. Shirley truly lived for her family. She was a wonderful cook who, for decades, loved hosting dinners—especially holiday dinners—in her home. She was an avid reader and enjoyed going to the movies, relishing the simpler pleasures of life. Shirley took enormous joy in her children’s accomplishments and was a wonderful, loving mother and very proud grandmother. In Shirley’s retirement, when son Mitch opened a restaurant in Tribeca, she would go there almost daily to assist in its operation, occasionally venturing into the kitchen to help cook and put one of her delicious soups on the menu. Shirley is survived by her son, Bruce, his wife, Barbara Shapiro, and her grandson, Jason Dennis. Her beloved son Mitch Dennis, sister Thelma (Toby) Tepper, and brother Harold (Sonny) Tepper predeceased her. She was forever grateful to Jacqui Campbell, her caregiver, who loved Shirley like her own mother and who took such good care of her in her final years of life. A private grave-side funeral service will be held on Monday, September 21, 2020 at Mt. Judah Cemetery in Queens, NY. Those wishing to honor Shirley with a memorial contribution are asked to consider Stein Hospice, 354 Demott Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873 https://www.wilfcampus.org/hospice/ or Temple Beth El, 350 Roxbury Road, Stamford, CT 06902 https://www.tbe.org/donate/.