Early Life

Shirley grew up in New York and New Jersey. She frequently visited the beach with her family.

When Shirley was 22 months old, her sister Rosalind (referred to as Roz) was born.

Shirley was born Dec. 17, 1933, just after her mother arrived in the U.S. They joked that the timing meant she could become President.

Shirley’s parents, Leo Schlanger and Ceil Sauerteig, were Jewish immigrants from Poland. They ran a
grocery store in New York and, for a time, in New Jersey.