Longtime Lawrence resident Carol Berman dies at 100

Carol Berman was a trailblazer.

The Lawrence resident turned community advicacy into a  political carer where she served in the state legislature.

Berman turned 100 on Sept. 21.

She died on Oct. 17.

Born in Broooklyn in 1923,  Berman served in the  State Senate from 1979 to 1984 and first achieved praise for her efforts to prevent the landing of Concorde at the local John F. Kennedy International Airport.

She was part of the leadership of the Emergency Coalition to Stop the SST and led numerous protests at Kennedy Airport, and encouraged area residents to sue the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

"Carol Berman was a hard working public official who continued to benefit the community long after her service as a senator," Nassau Coun ty Executive Bruce Blakeman said. "My sincerest condolences to her family and friends."

Berman was also a district aide in the offices of Assemblyman Eli Wager and of Congressman Herbert Tenzer. She was vice chair of the Nassau County Democratic Committee.

"I can only say as former president of Mill  Brook Civic Association, Carol was always there for us with issues that affected us," said Marc Tenzer. Herbert was his great-cousin. "You could always reach out to Carol and she was quick to respond. She was very warm and caring person, and will be greatly missed."  

Berman met her husband, Jerome Berman, at the University of Michigan in 1941. They became engaged in 1943 before Jerry enlisted in the Air Force and Carol graduated from college. They were then married in 1944 and after the war, they returned to Ann Arbor, yet eventually move to their present home in Lawrence.

The Bermans had two children, Elizabeth and Charles. Jerry died in 2020. There are four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Carol maintained an active lifestyle, taking at least two trips into Manhattan each week on the Long Island Rail Road into her 90s.

Family and friends marked her centennial birhday with an intimate gathering at the Lawrence Yacht & Country Club on Sept. 25. Unfortunately Berman did not attend  as Tropical Storm Ophelia hit the area. 

"Politocs always interested me," Berman said in a post-party interview regarding her activism that led her to the state legislature.

A chapel service will be helf on Friday, Oct. 20 from 11 a.m. to noon at Boulevard-Riverside Chapels, 1450 Broadway, Hewlett.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy can be shared at BoulevardRiversideChapel.com for the Berman family.