Obituary of Marjorie D. Pollack

Pollack, Marjorie D. LATHAM—The “Voice of Shaker High School” has been silenced. Marjorie D. Pollack, 89, died peacefully on Tuesday, September 29, surrounded by her family, at the Daughters of Sarah Nursing Center in Albany. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Marge was an Arista graduate of Girls’ Commercial High School, where she began her lifelong practice of taking notes in Pitman shorthand. As a teenager, she held many part-time and summer jobs in Brooklyn, often misrepresenting her age in order to qualify for employment. Marge first moved to the Albany area in the late 40s, and lived in the same house on Elizabeth St. in Latham since 1951. Starting in the 1960s, she and her husband made annual overseas trips, an activity she continued for the rest of her life. She visited dozens of countries, on six continents, and became an expert travel adviser to her family and friends. Most notably, Marge was the receptionist, switchboard operator, and advisor to teachers and principals at Shaker High School in Latham. She started this career shortly after Shaker opened, and continued it for the next 36 years. She came to know and love thousands of students and hundreds of teachers, never forgetting a name or a face. And everyone calling the school was greeted by Marge's pleasant voice proclaiming, “Good morning, Shaker High School!” Marjorie was the widow of Norman Pollack, her husband of 54 years. She is survived by her sons Robert (Denise Haines) Pollack of Philadelphia, and William (Dorothy) Pollack of Niskayuna; granddaughters Jennifer (Stefan) Sheckells of Kennett Square, PA, Lara (Frank) Neary of Shrewsbury, NJ, Andrea (Amyn Zindani) Pollack of Houston, Jaime (Ken Zwicklbauer) Cornell of Delmar, and Elise (Timothy) Cross of Asheville, NC; great grandchildren Maya and Padme, Emma and Max, Saffana and Aria, Soren and Sam, and Kyle. A gathering in Marjorie's memory will take place at the Levine Memorial Chapel, 649 Washington Ave, Albany, NY, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. this Friday, October 2. Interment will take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 4, at the Mount Carmel Cemetery, 8345 Cypress Hills St., Glendale, NY. The family wishes to thank the staff at St. Peter's Hospital, St. Peter's Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, and, most especially, the caring people at Daughters of Sarah for helping to make Marjorie’s last few months the best they could be.