STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Marie Salmon, a beloved great-grandmother and the longtime wife of Egon Salmon, a Holocaust survivor and Staten Island community leader, has died at the age of 96.
She helped build a lasting legacy of Holocaust education and remembrance through Wagner College’s Holocaust Center, championing programs that have taught generations of students about the dangers of antisemitism, hate and intolerance.
She died early Friday morning. At the time, she was living in a senior living community in Maplewood, New Jersey, according to her son, Henry Salmon.
Marie Salmon, formerly Marie Schiff, was born on Sept. 12, 1929, and raised in Port Richmond alongside her older sister, Joan, and her younger brother, Herb. She is described by her son as a “true Staten Islander.”
Her father, Herman, was the owner of a well-known furniture store, Schiff’s Furniture. He passed away when Marie was just 17 years old.
She attended PS 20 and Port Richmond High School before going to school in Manhattan. For a short time, she worked in a department store and eventually met her late husband of over 70 years, Egon Salmon.
The couple met at Temple Emanu-El in Port Richmond. Egon sold Marie a raffle ticket and at that moment, their lives were forever changed.
“My father came out of a men’s club meeting selling raffle tickets,” Jon Salmon, the couple’s other son, said. “The story goes she quickly turned to her friend Millie and said loan me 10 cents so I can buy a raffle ticket from that guy.”
The two were wed on June 28, 1951, in the former Hotel St. Moritz in Manhattan, went on a honeymoon to Cuba, and settled in Port Richmond before relocating to Elm Park and later, Sunnyside.
The couple lived in Florida for about 12 years after Egon Salmon’s retirement, and moved to Maplewood five years ago.
(From left to right) Henry Salmon, Egon J. Salmon, Marie Salmon and Jon Salmon.(Courtesy of Henry Salmon)
Together, the couple raised two sons: Henry and Jon.
“They were a dynamic duo,” Henry said of his parents. “They supported each other and they gave back to the community together.”
She stood alongside her husband as he began Salmon Real Estate in 1956. At times, she would even assist in writing ads for properties.
“She really supported my father in all the things that he accomplished and they accomplished together,” added Henry.
A loving homemaker, Marie Salmon was active in the Temple, with Hadassah, the Bernikow Jewish Community Center in Sea View, Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden in Livingston and the Staten Island Council on the Arts.
Marie and Egon Salmon were among the catalysts for the founding of the Wagner College Holocaust Center. Dr. Lori Weintrob, executive director of the center, said the couple endowed the Egon J. and Marie Salmon and Family Commemoration of Kristallnacht and the S.S. St. Louis 11 years ago, honoring the 1938 Nazi pogrom against Jews known as Kristallnacht and the ill-fated ship carrying Jewish refugees that was turned away from the United States before World War II.
Since then, Marie Salmon has reshaped the annual event to incorporate music, leading to programs with the Wagner College choir in Normandy, Paris and all over the world. As explained by Weintrob, Marie insisted the program focus on students. Now, 700 Staten Island students participate annually in a special program emphasizing compassion to refugees and fighting antisemitism at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, organized by Wagner College with the German Consul General, Project Hospitality and the NYC Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes.
“Marie Salmon was passionate about impacting youth of all faiths to care more deeply about the lessons of the Holocaust and how hate affected individual lives,” Weintrob added. “She wanted to be involved in shaping our programs. I deeply appreciated her guidance.”
Wagner College President Jeffrey Doggett issued the following statement:
“Marie Salmon and the entire Salmon family were determined to teach both history and empathy to the next generation of young people and promote compassion for our neighbors. Their generosity in funding Holocaust education created a lasting legacy for students of Wagner College and of New York City. May her memory be a blessing.”
Remembered by her family
Henry Salmon described his mother as loving, dependable and charitable.
“She was friendly, she always had a smile and she loved to meet new people and make new friends,” he said of his mother.
This photo from 2020 shows Marie Salmon blow out her birthday candle for her 91st birthday as her husband Egon looks on.(Courtesy of Henry Salmon)
She played tennis and later learned to play golf. She was also a wonderful cook and baker.
Drs. Tracy Svetcov and Barie Miller, Marie’s granddaughters, shared a special memory of their grandmother with the Advance/SILive.com.
“She always knew the latest celebrity gossip!” the granddaughters shared in a joint statement. “She would go from show to show on Netflix and at one point, she stumbled upon ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and called us laughing so hard we thought she was crying.”
Scott Salmon, a grandson, shared a bit about his grandmother and said the following in a statement:
“She was both elegant and unexpectedly funny, she had an incredible memory that never forgot a birthday or pop culture reference, a lover of good food (and a critic of bad), and she had more musical talent in her pinky finger than my grandfather had in his entire body.”
“She was always present and always available to help anybody that needed her advice and counsel,” Henry Salmon added.
As he further noted, “based on her age, she lived a full and complete life and she was healthy almost to the end and that’s a blessing.”
Funeral arrangements
The funeral is scheduled for 12 p.m. Monday at Menorah Chapels at 2145 Richmond Ave. in New Springville. Friends are invited to begin gathering around 11 a.m. Interment will follow services at United Hebrew Cemetery in Oakwood.
A lunch reception will follow at Wagner College’s Kelleher Presidential Room on the second floor of 300 Howard Ave. on Wagner’s extended campus at 2 p.m. All are welcome.
Shiva will be Monday evening from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 201 Marin Blvd., Apt. 619, in Jersey City. Shiva on Tuesday and Wednesday will be from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 155 E. 76th St., Apt 12A, in Manhattan.
The Salmon family requests that donations in Marie’s memory be designated to the Egon J. and Marie Salmon and Family Commemoration of Kristallnacht and the St. Louis fund at Wagner College. Those who wish to contribute can do so at https://alumniconnect.wagner.edu/give.
Surviving family
Marie Salmon is survived by her sons Jon (Meryl) and Henry (Linda); her grandchildren: Barie (David), Tracy (Spencer), Scott (Remy), Matthew (Honey), Abbey (Edgar), Katie (Bernard); great-grandchildren: Linus, Lara, Marc, Carly, Emily, Ella, Isaac, Esther, Joey, Linny, Miles, Jack and Leo.