Obituary of Marianne Halperin

Marianne Halperin, age 91, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, after a long illness. Born October 13, 1931, in Brooklyn, New York, to Mary Wallace Halperin and Jack Halperin, Marianne was raised in Roslyn Heights, Long Island. The Halperin Family spent their summers in Huntington Bay Hills, Long Island, where her uncles built a cottage for the family, and later in life Marianne made the family home her permanent residence. She graduated from St. Dominic High School in Oyster Bay, New York, and Marymount College in New York City, in 1954. She received an M.A. from Columbia University, New York, in 1965. Marianne met Jack Fitzharris, an acquaintance of her father's, as a teenager on Long Island. Jack charmed Marianne with his friendly, Irish brogue, and years later they shared more than three decades together as a loving and colorful couple in Huntington Bay Hills.

After college, Marianne remained in New York City, working as a "Gal Friday" for the public relations director of the Lighthouse Club on Andros Island in the Bahamas. Reaping the benefits of the exotic "home office" locale, Marianne frequently journeyed there, hobnobbing with all kinds of celebrities who dropped in to publicize the place. It was one of the best times of her life. After several years, Marianne sought a challenge and more purposeful occupation and went into education, teaching children with neurological disabilities. In 1983, Marianne returned to Long Island to train at South Oaks Hospital in Amityville, as an alcohol rehabilitation counselor. She was a credentialed alcoholism and substance abuse counselor in the State of New York, and interned at the Pederson-Krag Mental Health Center in Huntington, where Marianne worked for the next ten years until her retirement from counseling.

In retirement, Marianne and her mother, with whom she was very close, needed an outlet for their creative energy. They joined the Women's Center of Huntington where Marianne assisted in creating The Women of the Aging and Sageing Group as well as many other groups. The Women's Center meant the world to her.

Marianne lived a selfless life. She was innately kind and a beautiful person. She sensed the goodness in people and was genuinely concerned for the wellbeing of others. Marianne was also fun-loving, worldly and full of seemingly boundless energy. She was adventurous and fascinated by unfamiliar locales and cultures, traveling extensively to many places such as Tehran, Iran (1960s), or trekking in the Himalayas. She loved the plethora of culture New York City had to offer, often taking the train to experience lectures, concerts and museums.

Marianne is predeceased by her parents, her beloved Jack, her loving brother, Charles, and his wife Ann, her Uncles Paul and Frank Wallace, her Aunt Kathryn Wallace Plunkett, and her beloved cousins, Mary Plunkett Bentzlin and Margaret Plunkett Reuhle.

She is survived by her two nephews, one niece and their families – Robert Halperin (Long Island City, NY), Michael and Michelle Halperin (Lake Forest, CA)(Children - Colin, Garrett and Ryan), and Jenny Halperin Evans (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA)(Children - Drew, Reed, Tyler and Brady). In addition, she is survived by her cousin, Kathleen Brey (Sandy Springs, GA), twelve second cousins, and her beloved colleagues and friends, especially Denise Wallace and a dedicated team who so lovingly cared for Marianne during her lengthy illness.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church, Centerport, New York, Friday, February 3, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. Private Interment will take place Saturday, February 4, at Holy Cross Cemetery, 3620 Tilden Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. In lieu of flowers, kindly donate in Marianne's memory to The National Foundation for Facial Reconstruction, The Smile Train, or The Heifer Project International. For further information, please contact Nolan Funeral Home, Five Laurel Avenue, Northport, New York.