Phyllis Laura Galerstein

PHYLLIS (née Baum) GALERSTEIN passed away peacefully in San Diego, California surrounded by her loving family on June 22, 2023; she was 90 years old. Phyllis was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1933 to Edna and Meyer Baum. She was raised in Brooklyn, graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School and New York University.  Phyllis met her husband, Lawrence Galerstein, a fellow Brooklynite. They moved to Bellmore, NY where they raised their family. Phyllis’ husband predeceased her in 1977. Phyllis was a passionate educator, teaching elementary school students in a career spanning over 50 years. She retired from the Bellmore School district, where she was an excellent teacher, mentor, friend and colleague. She kept these life long relationships close to her heart. Phyllis is survived by three daughters and their spouses — Debra Salman and her husband Richard of Boynton Beach, Florida, Ellen Friedman and her husband Ira of San Diego, California, and Karen Newman and her husband Randy of San Diego, California. Phyllis also leaves seven adoring grandchildren — Alyssa Salman and her husband Michael Raudebaugh, Rebecca Salman and her husband John Denton, and Jonathan Salman and his wife Casey Boersma, Lee Friedman and his wife Jocelyn, Jenna Spear and her husband Jake, Max Newman and his wife Marissa Neale, and Carly Bright and her husband Benjamin. Phyllis felt extremely blessed to get to know her seven great grandchildren — Madeline, Sophie, and Jacob Raudebaugh, Claire and Miriam Friedman, and Logan and Zachary Spear. Phyllis was the queen. She was the consummate hostess, a great and loyal friend, brave in the face of adversity, and an amazing strong-willed mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Her immediate and extended family were everything to her. She will be missed forever by friends and family, but will live on in family lore. Shiva will be observed at the home of her daughter, Debra Salman, in Boynton Beach and at the homes of her daughters, Ellen Friedman and Karen Newman in San Diego. Have a Coke and a smile and think of Phyllis. Phyllis was a lifelong supporter of Hadassah and donations in her memory can be made to Hadassah.org, Magen David Adom, or the charity of your choice.