Sydell Ruth Greenberg Platoni

News Death Notice

PLATONI, Sydell Ruth Greenberg 12 Nov.1927 - 13 June 2010 died unexpectedly at her home in Boca Raton, Florida on June 13, 2010. She was born in Chicago, Illinois on November 12, 1927, the daughter of the late Dora Auerbach Greenberg and Abraham Greenberg. A graduate of the Chicago Public Schools at the age of 15, she attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison, receiving her baccalaureate degree in education. She later completed her master's degree in elementary education at the University of Connecticut at Danbury. Sydell married the late Eugene J. Platoni of Amawalk, NY on August 16, 1951, only to be sorrowfully widowed in 1983 by her husband's death, secondary to radiation exposure from his US Naval service during World War II. She is survived by one daughter, Colonel (Dr.) Kathy Platoni of Beavercreek, Ohio, currently stationed in the combat theater of Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom; her son-in-law, Lt. Col John Hutchinson, also of Beavercreek, Ohio; her dear friend and companion, Robert Edwards of West Palm Beach, Florida, and an abundance of friends and family members that circle the globe. As an educator, Sydell taught in the Katonah and Yorktown School Systems for more than 35 years, having taught every grade from kindergarten through twelfth grade. To this day, and long past her retirement teacher, she remains acclaimed as the most beloved of elementary school teachers by dozens of her former students. Subsequent to her retirement, she launched her great worldwide adventure and traveled the world fearlessly, setting foot on the soil of almost every nation on this planet. She also became a published author at the age of 80. As a champion of those less fortunate, Sydell maintained an expansive collection of charitable organizations and undertakings to which she devoted her life. Her commitment to the betterment of quality of life for abused and abandoned children, in particular, and her equally indomitable spirit, only begin to define this remarkable woman, her survivorship skills in the face of her declining health, and the legacy of continued lessons left behind from which the remainder of us would be wise to learn. She leaves behind an enormous abyss of emptiness for the multitude of ways she marked the world she left behind far too soon. Visitation will begin on Tuesday, June 22nd at Clark Funeral Home in Yorktown Heights, NY, followed by funeral services and burial at Ferncliff Masoleum in Hartsdale, NY on June 24, 2010. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations in memory of Sydell be gifted to those charities listed with Clark Funeral Home (914-962-3333).