A lifetime of hope and compassion
Roosevelt resident Emily Silverstein remembered
BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP Staff Writer
Hundreds of family members and friends gathered together in the Roosevelt Public School on Monday afternoon to celebrate the pulchritude of Emily Rachel Silverstein and to lament her untimely death.

PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Family and friends gather at the memorial service for Emily Silverstein, 19, held at Roosevelt Public School on April 13.

The 19-year-old daughter of residents Bob and Linda Silverstein touched many lives with her compassion, passion and creativity. In an essay that Emily wrote 10 years ago in which she was asked to describe herself in three words, she wrote vegetarian, peaceful and hardworking.

Those attributes served as her foundation, but she grew into so much more before the eyes of those who knew and loved her. In the words of her brother Jamey, "She was more magnificent than humanly possible."

"She gave so much to her family, friends and the world," her father said during the memorial service, adding that from an early age, Emily was guided by a vision of a better world that drove her to become involved in many different causes.

By the age of 10, she marched for peace and passionately advocated for recycling and protecting the environment. Over the next 10 years, she became actively engaged in women's rights, human rights, social justice, environmental sustainability, and ending homelessness, according to her family.

A sophomore anthropology major and English minor at Gettysburg College, Emily was also studying Arabic and planning to study abroad in Morocco next fall. Described by her peers as a fierce yet gentle revolutionary with a passion for politics and activism, she served as co-president of the Peace House, where she lived, started her college's chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, and advocated for Amnesty International and Free the Children.

Family members said they hope Emily's deep unconditional love for everything and everyone and her nurturing and protective nature will inspire others to keep moving toward a world with peaceable and sustainable communities.

Roosevelt residents Kirk and Jane Rothfuss recalled Emily helping their children David and Ellen build a "Peace Mobile."

JEFF GRANIT staff Friends of Emily Silverstein's from Gettysburg College console one another during the memorial service at Roosevelt Public School on April 13.

"Emily could always engage both of our kids in art projects," Jane said. "Often when we arrived home after a night out, we would be greeted by new art work hanging in the foyer, such as holiday greetings, pictures of animals, environmental messages or caricatures of the three of them."

She said, "I will never forget the time we left Emily with our two children and a box. Not by design, but there just happened to be a big carton from an appliance hanging around the family room. By the time we arrived home, Emily had helped the kids transform the box into a Peace Mobile, complete with cut-out windows, doors, and of course, peace signs. They were so proud to show us their work, and we were so happy about the values Emily was modeling for our kids — creativity, playfulness, peacefulness, and friendship."

Emily's aunts and uncles said their niece nourished the circle of love in their family. They said she always had time to talk and to share a laugh. They also said that she loved to give gifts, make things for others, and had a fondness for sharing pumpkin ice cream and pie.

Family and friends bid farewell to Emily Silverstein, 19, during a memorial service at Roosevelt Public School on April 13.

Friends said she reached out and tried to understand every soul she met with infectious optimism and eternal sunshine.

Caitlin Wong, 19, one of Emily's best friends growing up, called Emily "the most selfless person."

"She wanted everyone to be happy," Wong said. "She saw the good in everybody."

Wong said Emily would want people to remember her for her smile, and her happiness.

"She was the sweetest person ever," Wong said.

Peggy Malkin, who serves on the Borough Council with Bob Silverstein, called Emily "a real Roosevelt girl."

"All of my encounters with Emily were such pleasant ones, because she was just a lovely, happy, sweet girl," Malkin said.

Malkin said Emily worked at the Dairy Queen in East Windsor and always knew just what Malkin was looking for — frozen hot chocolate.

"She'd ask why I liked it so much, and really laugh when I couldn't answer 'cause I was too busy inhaling it," Malkin said. "I never went there without asking for Emily first so she could make it. She was also instrumental in convincing George to stay open all year, not close at Christmas, which I was very happy about," Malkin said.

Mayor Elsbeth Battel said, "The entire town grieves with the family, and supports them in this time of heartbreak."

Gettysburg College senior Kevin Robert Schaeffer, 21, of Oley, Pa., has been charged with the criminal homicide of Emily, his former girlfriend.

Court papers filed against Schaeffer state that he told police that he choked her and stabbed her several times with a steak knife in the early morning hours of April 9 in the off-campus home he was living in.

Schaeffer has also been charged with aggravated assault, possessing an instrument of crime and tampering with evidence. He is being held without bail in the Adams County Prison. A preliminary hearing is scheduled to take place April 30.

Emily's father said that there could never be a reason to justify the loss of such a remarkable person.

"She accomplished many amazing things, but there are so many more lives that she would have touched," he said.

The family has set up the Emily Silverstein Fund to continue her legacy of hope and action for a better world.

"We hope that her passion will inspire you to have hope for a better world and know that every act of compassion makes a difference," her father said.

Donations can be made to the Emily Silverstein Fund, P.O. Box 340, Roosevelt, NJ 08555-0340.