Elaine Hershman

Elaine Ackerman Hershman departed this life on July 24, 2025, at the glorious age of 101, beloved by family and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband Sam, her sister Charlotte (and her husband Jerry), her niece’s husband Ray, and her grandnephew Joe. Surviving are her children, Howard (Helene) and Phyllis (Paul); grandchildren, Alec (Eddie), Hayley, Sam, and Lara (Amber); niece Marsha and nephew Alan (Julie); grandniece Sharyl (Chuck); and great grandnieces and granddaughter Skylar, Brynlee, and Miley. 

Elaine was born in 1924 to Sam and Rose Ackerman of Toledo. In 1956, she was a pioneer in the early post-war migration of Jewish families from the Old West End, many of them headed by veterans like Sam, to the new neighborhood of Lincolnshire. She remained an active member of the community for the rest of her life, remaining in the same cozy home where the young couple reared their children.

 Elaine was a proud member of Congregation Shomer Emunim for more than 70 years, drawing strength from The Temple through the vicissitudes of a long life, including the loss of her beloved husband when she was only 60 and the challenges of achieving centenarian age. One of her fondest memories was a splendid party at The Temple attended by scores of members on her ninety-fifth birthday, when she was young enough to thoroughly enjoy it.

Many Toledo brides were launched on their family journeys during Elaine’s years of offering wise advice and saving the day from unexpected glitches at her post in the bridal department of the old Lion Store. Her own home was filled with extended family for Sunday dinners, mischievous pets, and the welcome disorder of being a favorite gathering place for her active children’s friends. 

Living as long as she did, she endured the loss of a multitude of friends over the years, but she never lost her knack for making new friends. That knack, together with her generous ability to accept the changing manners and mores of the generations that followed her, ensured that she was never alone. She will be enormously missed by many, but none can fail but to be comforted by the thought of a life well lived. May her memory be for a blessing.