Marsha Shulroff, head Oyster Bay Democrat, dies

Family and friends came first and foremost for Marsha Shulroff of Plainview, the former Democratic leader of Oyster Bay Town.

Shulroff, 71, of Plainview, died Saturday of pancreatic cancer. Her husband, Edward, a Plainview water commissioner, said Shulroff's children and grandchildren took precedence even while she was in the throes of party politics.

Born in the Bronx, Marsha Shulroff grew up in Bayside, Queens, and graduated from Martin Van Buren High School in Queens Village. Her husband met her at a sweet sixteen party for one of his girlfriends.

"She walked through the door and I said, 'I'm in love,' " Edward Shulroff said Sunday.

After marrying, the couple moved to Plainview. Marsha Shulroff became a Girl Scout leader and a soccer coach. She worked for almost 25 years at the Nassau County Board of Elections, where she did data input, before retiring in July 2009.

Shulroff also served as a Democratic New York State committeewoman, zone leader, 13th Assembly district leader, and 16th Legislative district leader.

Nassau Legis. Judith Jacobs (D-Woodbury) said Shulroff "was my dearest friend."

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"If she believed something needed correcting, she stood by her beliefs," Jacobs said.

In 1993, Shulroff received a $17,000 out-of-court settlement when she agreed to drop a lawsuit she had filed in U.S. District Court against her former boss, John Matthews, who was Nassau Democratic elections commissioner.

Shulroff lost her $20,000 job at the Board of Elections after voting for Steve Sabbeth who unsuccessfully tried to oust Matthews as Democratic Party chairman in 1991.

Shulroff said Matthews fired her because she voted against him; he contended he fired her because she was not a good worker. Later, Shulroff was rehired.

In addition to her husband, Shulroff is survived by her daughters, Melissa Clive of Roslyn and Pamela Fasolina of Plainview; and a son, Jason, also of Plainview. She also is survived by a brother, Dennis Slabo of Woodbury; and six grandchildren, Andrea and Joseph Fasolina of Plainview, Rachel and Austin Clive of Roslyn, and Lyndsey and Jake Shulroff of Plainview.

A service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at Gutterman's in Woodbury with burial at the Beth Moses Cemetery in Pinelawn. The family requests donations to The Lustgarten Foundation in Bethpage.