Elihu Fishman

1927 - 2020

Dr. Elihu Israel Fishman passed away peacefully on May 8, 2020 due to complications from Covid-19. Elly was born in Fairfield, Connecticut on August 3, 1927, the third of four children of the late Aaron and Rose Fishman. As a young boy, Elly worked at his father's movie theaters, The Fishman Theater Corp. with locations in New Haven and Fairfield. He skipped sixth grade and at the age of 16, entered the University of Connecticut where he played trumpet and varsity football, graduating in 1949. Elly served honorably in the U.S. Navy where he was a medical assistant. He met the love of his life, the late Myrna Beth Seicol, when they were counselors at Camp Laurelwood in North Madison. They married on June 8, 1952, while he was in dental school at Temple University in Philadelphia. After graduating from dental school in 1953, he and Myrna settled in West Hartford to establish his dental practice in Elmwood, and raise their daughter JoAnne and son James. He worked long days at his dental office, but never missed an opportunity to support and cheer on his children in their numerous athletic and academic pursuits. Elly provided exceptional care for his patients until he retired in 1981 at the age of 54. Athletically inclined, he played pick-up basketball and volleyball until he was 49 and then took up jogging well into his 60's. He coached West Hartford youth basketball for many years, winning awards for his service. Elly was a devoted husband and father, caring about and for his family above all else. Elly and Myrna retired to Heritage Village in Southbury in 1982 and then moved to Seabury in Bloomfield in 2004. Elly held leadership positions on the boards of his synagogue when his children were young. He was an active member of the Woodworking and Metal Crafts Club at Heritage Village as well as an EMT on their ambulance service. At Seabury Retirement Community, he was a tireless fundraiser for the Seabury Charitable Foundation. Elly was a hands-on do-it-yourselfer, with a talent to fix anything for his family and others. In retirement, Elly became a prolific and talented gardener and woodworker, making furniture for his children's growing families, intricate inlaid wooden bowls, lathe-turned vases, creative whirligigs and birdhouses. Elly and Myrna traveled the world with Appalachian Mountain Club where they back-packed the Grand Canyon, hiked in Costa Rica and Norway, canoed the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in Maine and the Boundary Waters of Minnesota. They kept their minds active traveling to over 50 Elderhostels in China, Greece, Alaska, Canada and Prince Edward Island. They were happy to settle down, finally, in their cozy cottage at Seabury. Elly took great satisfaction and comfort in his children's well-being, and he took attentive and tender care of Myrna as her health declined until she passed away in August 2012. Elly led an honorable and moral life. He expressed gratitude for everything that came his way. He left a quiet footprint on the earth, except for his delightful laugh which was his unique signature. Elly will be lovingly remembered by his daughter JoAnne and husband Jack Kloppenburg, their daughter Shalako and husband Michael Thomas, son Micah and wife Carrie Breunig and their daughter Isla, and daughter Kestrel; and his son James Fishman and wife Diane and their daughter Julianne and husband Austin Slitt and their sons Grayson, Cameron and Lincoln, daughter Christina and husband Alex Steckel and their daughter Surrey, and son Ross. Elly's family expresses their deepest gratitude to all the special people who cared for him at Seabury, especially the staff at Brewer. Burial will be private. Memorial donations may be made in Elihu Fishman's name to the Seabury Staff COVID-19 Gratitude Fund, 200 Seabury Drive, Bloomfield, CT 06002.