Cover photo for Nora Ebbets's Obituary
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1920 Nora 2017

Nora Ebbets

October 23, 1920 — January 5, 2017

Nora Ebbets, aged 96, died peacefully on January 5th, 2017 at UPMC Northwest Hospital in Seneca Pennsylvania after a brief Illness.

Nora was born October 25, 1920, in Brooklyn, NY, the daughter of Michael J. Silvestri and Evelina Guimpalia. She was a delightful human being with many friends.

Raised in Oyster Bay, NY, she was considered a beauty with looks that rivaled the then popular actress Dorothy Lamour. After graduating high school she worked for the telephone company as a switchboard operator where she became known as the "hello girl" because of the melodious way she greeted those who rang the switch. This prompted the local paper to publish an article comparing her to the WW1 switchboard operators also known as "Hello Girls". The article included a picture of her sitting, model-like, with her headset at the switchboard.

While growing up, Nora was fascinated by the experiences of famous pilots including Lindberg, Airhardt and Post. In 1941, her first flying lesson was to take place at Roosevelt Field, NY, but was cancelled after the Pearl Harbor attack. She never did learn to fly.

In 1944 she married Jack Ebbets and they moved to Carl Place, NY, where the had their 3 children. The family moved to Garden City, NY in the 1960's where Nora got a part time job in a local fabric store, Frankels Fabrics. In no time she worked her way up to Executive Secretary to the stores' president.

Nora was widowed at 54. For the next 8 years she worked for a real estate agency that specialized in selling the beautiful old mansions of Long Island. She did well enough to retire and moved permanantly to the lakeside cottage that she and Jack had purchased shortly after they married. She was an active resident there for the next 40 years, volunteering for many lake events and even accepting a position on the planning board. During the winter months she "snowbirded" in Myrtle Beach, SC. She was so popular with the other snowbirders that many of them came from all over the county (and Canada) to attend her 90th birthday party in Pennsylvania.

She had many friends of all ages. She loved young people. She had a generous heart. She will be missed.

Nora is survived by her 3 children, Jay, Bruce and Leslie, 4 grandchildren, Christopher, Jason, Matthew and Amanda, and 2 greatgrandchildren, Jack and Lily.

A celebration of life will be held this July at Wanaksink Lake, NY.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Wanaksink Lake, NY in July 2017.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Nora Ebbets, please visit our flower store.

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