Sue Salko, a 51-year resident of Great Neck and former instructor at the Great Neck Senior Citizens Center, died at her home surrounded by her family on July 28, after a struggle with lung cancer. She was 81.
Salko taught for many years at the Great Neck senior center, served as a senior advocate for state Senator Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City), and was co-director of the Life Review Project – a series of aging workshops hosted by the Great Neck Senior Citizens Center.
“Sue was an outstanding leader in enhancing the lives of seniors on Long Island,” said Ann Tarcher, director of the Great Neck Senior Citizens Center.
Salko was born in the Five Towns on March 4, 1932, the daughter of Ben and Irene Sondheim. She attended Cortland State University and New York University, obtaining her bachelor’s degree in 1953.
Salko moved to Great Neck with her husband Meyer Salko, a psychotherapist, in 1962.
While raising her three children, she performed professionally as a dancer and in her own solo offerings as “Simply, A Clown,” an act that was featured at the World’s Fair in 1964.
After a career in business with Exxon, Salko attended Adelphi University and obtained her degree as a social worker.
As a social worker she ran the New Dawn Treatment Program where she was left a lasting impression on the families she aided. She continued her academic work as a long-time member of the University Seminar on Innovation in Education at Columbia University, from which she received an award last year for “distinguished contributions to educational policy and practice.”
Salko served as senior advocate for Hannon, developing programs to support seniors in Garden City from 2001 to 2003.
Salko was one of the most popular teachers of fitness and exercise at the Great Neck Senior Center for many years, and was certified in that field by the Arthritis Foundation.
In recent years Salko became a frequent speaker on creative aging for major organizations such as the National Council of Jewish Women, and reported each year on the annual national conference on aging in America.
“Sue’s articles about the most promising developments in the field helped practitioners throughout the country to upgrade their performance,” said Deb Peterson, editor at About.com, which published her reports.
In 2012 Salko developed a program on Life Review for Creative Aging with her partner Ronald Gross, which was funded under two successive grants to the Great Neck Senior Citizens Center by the Greentree Fund.
The project, which featured senior citizens telling their life experiences at workshops, was commended in 2013 by Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman as “critically important to seniors.”
“It gives them the ability to connect with their peers and help the generation behind them embrace life as they age,” Kaiman said.
In lieu of flowers, Salko’s family has requested that contributions be made to Doctors Without Borders in her name.
Salko is survived by her son David of Huntington, her son Stephen of Los Angeles, her daughter Shelley Keishya Salko of Puerto Rico, her brother Jay Sondheim of California and six grandchildren.
