Toby H. Elman

Toby H. Elman, 88 years old, of the Capital District in NY, passed away on March 17, 2026. Born and raised in Albany, Toby was part of a large and loving extended family. With her cousins living upstairs in a two-family home, and Aunts, Uncles, and cousins very nearby, the house she was raised in became a haven for young and old alike.

Toby was raised to cherish family, which became a way of life for her. Throughout her childhood, Toby showed exceptional promise as a classical pianist and was accepted to Julliard to further her study. When finances kept her closer to home, she attended the State College at Albany where she met the love of her life, Arnold.

She married her beloved Arnie in 1956, and together they raised a family of three. During this time, the family relocated several times, and reaching back to those roots, she made each new residence "home" and welcomed family and friends, old and new. Toby was a loving and devoted homemaker, wife, and mother, famous to family and friends for her delicious meals and baking. She was widely admired for her lady-like demeanor, her sheer beauty, and her penchant for perfectly-matched pink and purple outfits.

With school-aged children, Toby went back to school to learn shorthand and dictation, eventually becoming an executive secretary for the State of New York. During her long career, Toby worked as a legal secretary in a patent law office in Hartford, CT and for Sullivan County Tourism, where her coworkers awarded her with a plaque declaring her "the Best Executive Secretary in the History of the Office of Public Information in the Sullivan County Catskills." Finally, Toby worked for CHP Healthcare, retiring to travel extensively with Arnie.

Toby was ahead of her time in her devotion to health and nutrition. She was quick to adopt practices to enhance her family's health and her own health and was gifted at creating delicious meals around good dietary practices. A non-athletic youth, Toby became an avid runner in middle age and often woke up in the dark to run before work with a friend. When running was no longer feasible, she became an equally prolific walker, walking enthusiastically with Arnie. During her retirement, she enjoyed the beauty and health benefits of T'ai Chi.

While living in the Clifton Park region of New York, Toby and Arnie were active members and supporters of their synagogue, Temple Beth Shalom. For many years, Toby was on the Board of the Friends of the Clifton Park-Halfmoon library, producing marketing materials and newsletters. And embracing her love of nutrition and delicious meals, Toby chaired the Coburg Village Dining Committee, and was especially helpful in facilitating clear communication between staff and residents to make dietary health easier.

Toby was predeceased by her parents, Esther (Gellman) Scher and Louis Scher, by her sisters, Linda Scher and Susan Weiner, and by her beloved husband of 66 years, Arnold Elman. She is survived by her brother Irwin Scher (Marilyn); her children, Abbie Van Wely (Peter), Eric Elman (Melinda), and Sara Whiting (Timothy); by her grandchildren, Hannah Rose Van Wely (Jason Letts), Esther Van Wely, Leah Bender (Derek), Aaron Elman (Kelsey), and Joseph Whiting; and by seven great-grandchildren.

Those wishing to remember Toby in a special way can make memorial contributions in her name to Congregation Beth Shalom: 688 Clifton Park Center Road, Clifton Park, NY 12208 or to the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library

Funeral services will be held on Monday, March 23rd at 11:00 a.m. at Levine Memorial Chapel, 649 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY, followed by interment in the Hebrew Tailors' Cemetery on Western Avenue in Guilderland, NY.

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