Elise Danino Hirshberg, a creator and enhancer of beauty, philanthropist, consummate homemaker, and true matriarch, passed away at home surrounded by her family on August 5th, 2025. She was 99.
Born in 1925, Elise entered a world of shifting tides and held her own through each era, upheaval, and rebirth. After losing both her parents by the age of three, she and her beloved sister Emily were raised by their Ladino-speaking grandmother, D’Jamila Danino. When D’Jamila passed during their teenage years, the sisters lived on, rooted in a legacy of resilience and grace.
By 16, Elise was already shaping beauty with her own hands, studying fashion design at the McDowell School of Design. This began a love affair with fabric and fashion that she pursued throughout her life, consistently designing and sewing her own outfits. She later earned a degree in literature from Hofstra University, adding language to her palette of expression.
Her life unfolded in chapters of courage. Elise married at 18, and though the marriage did not last, it brought forth her beloved son, Jeffrey Allan. With great strength and conviction, she sought a divorce in 1949 and raised Jeff as a single mother, boldly navigating a world that had not yet made space for women like her. She met and married the love of her life, Harold Hirshberg. They had a daughter, Beth Amy, and remained in love for 68 years until Harold’s passing in 2018.
Never content to stop learning, Elise returned to study at the New York School of Interior Design in 1970, this time turning her keen eye toward space and structure. Her fearless approach to beauty turned spaces into immersive experiences – she famously papered not just walls, but ceilings, light switch covers, and even window blinds. Every last corner held her signature flourish.
Elise gave generously — to educational, democratic and Jewish causes, and to those at the margins of the world. Deeply committed to continuous learning, Elise believed in progress not as a concept, but as a personal responsibility; and that growth and change were always possible, at any age.
In a lifetime of accomplishments, Elise’s greatest masterpiece was her family. She was the magnetic force at the center of generations, regularly bringing her large, extended family together in celebration and with love. Her presence was a constant reminder that strength and softness can — and must — coexist. With her steadfast strength, vigorous support, and deep engagement in the lives of her family and the world around her, she fully embodied the ethos of one of her famous aphorisms: “To survive in this world, you must have a spine of steel and a velvet glove.”
Elise was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. She leaves behind a legacy of beauty, boldness, and boundless love. She is survived by her children, Jeffrey Allan Hirshberg (Shelley Satuloff) and Amy Hirshberg Lederman; her sister-in-law, Estelle Cohen; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins, and a legacy woven through the hearts of all who knew her.
In honor of Elise’s spirit of philanthropy, in lieu of flowers, donations in Elise’s honor can be made to the charity of your choosing.
The memorial graveside service can be viewed here.
