Obituary: Edith "Edie" Gorelick (Fishman)

On April 18, 2015, Edith “Edie” Gorelick (Fishman) passed away peacefully at her home with her husband Jack at her side. She was 78 and had been living with Alzheimer’s for more than eight years.

Edie was born in Brooklyn, New York on May 30, 1936 to Sophie and User Fishman. The summer before she entered seventh grade, Edie’s parents drove across the country to California, hoping the climate would help alleviate her mother’s arthritis. It was in California that Edie learned to play the cello, which would become her lifelong passion. Her family returned to the east coast, where she would live the rest of her life.

Edie graduated from the famed High School of Performing Arts in New York City, during which time she was a member of the all-city orchestra, and went on to attend Ithaca College as a music education major. Edie met her husband, Jack, a veterinary student at nearby Cornell University, and the couple married in June 1957. Following their college graduations, they moved to West Virginia for one year.

After Jack’s apprenticeship, he and Edie relocated to New York, where he joined a small animal veterinary practice. Edie raised their three children and was an active parent, volunteering with the Head Start after-school program in Great Neck, NY as a music teacher.

In 1967, Edie and her family moved to Cherry Hill, NJ where Jack had purchased a veterinary practice, Garden State Animal Hospital. For 40 years, until the couple’s retirement in 2005, Edie was a fixture at the front desk. She worked alongside Jack growing the family-owned business into a fixture on Haddonfield Road.

Edie continued to pursue her passion for cello and music. She took on a select number of students, was a Philadelphia Orchestra season subscriber for 43 years, and enjoyed July trips to Tanglewood in Massachusetts for the summer music series. She also loved to travel; while Paris was her favorite city, she had wonderful memories of holding a baby panda in China and listening to a pre-wedding rehearsal of the Ave Maria in a cathedral along the Costa Brava in Spain.

Edie’s love of music is something that stayed with her until the last days of her life.

She is survived by her husband of almost 58 years, Dr. Jack Gorelick; brother (Lenny Fishman); children (Root, Robert, Suzanne); and ten of her grandchildren.

The family will hold private services and asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The Tender, 16 E. Main St. Moorestown, NJ 08057 or Samaritan Hospice, 5 Eves Dr. Marlton, NJ 08053 .

Condolences may be left at www.Lewisfuneralhomemoorestown.com