Obituary: Teri Ellen Kaplan

Prepared by Shari Bardash-Eivers

Teri Ellen Kaplan was born Dec. 12, 1935, to Helen Burger Kaplan and Edward Kaplan. She was born and raised in the Bronx and was a very proud member of both her neighborhood borough and her heritage. 

Teri graduated from Bronx High School of Science in 1953 and that summer went on to be a counselor at a sleepaway camp in the Catskills where she met the love of her life, Irwin Bardash. The two were just about to start college — Irwin at Cornell and Teri at Barnard. They dated throughout their college careers. Teri graduated from Barnard on a Tuesday in June of 1957, she and Irwin would be married the following Sunday, and so began their 63-year journey of love and laughter.

When the newlyweds journeyed back up to Ithaca for Irwin’s fifth year of studies in engineering, Teri became an administrator for the regional office of Girls Scouts of the United States of America, training leaders and association administrators in Tompkins and Tioga counties. She always said that “cookie season” was the highlight of her job, as cookie tasting was one of her responsibilities in securing the cookie vendors for that year’s Girl Scout cookie sale. Teri never passed up a good cookie.

The happy couple moved back downstate when Irwin secured an engineering position at Armour. Shortly thereafter in December 1958, Teri and Irwin had their first child, Seth. A year or so later, the family of three moved to south Jersey for Irwin’s new career opportunity at RCA. In November 1960, Teri and Irwin welcomed their second son, Michael. Then in 1964, their family would be complete with the birth of a daughter, Shari. 

In 1966, Irwin accepted a position with a new defense-oriented company, Sedco Systems of Farmingdale, and the young family moved to Stony Brook. It was pretty rural in Stony Brook in 1966. There was no

Smith Haven Mall, no Stony Brook University Hospital, for that matter, there was no Nicholls Road south of Nesconset Highway. Yet the young family moved to the Strathmore “B” section so the kids could benefit from the outstanding public education offered through the Three Village school district.

When Teri’s youngest child was old enough to enter nursery school, Teri started graduate work at Stony Brook University. She was a bit of a trailblazer in that there were not yet many female graduate students. In fact, in her interview, she was asked how her children would be cared for while she was in class to which she remarked that she would deal with her kids as they were her responsibility and her business, and Stony Brook should focus on educating its students as that was its responsibility and its business.

As her children progressed through school, all eventually graduating from Ward Melville High School, Teri completed her master’s degree and doctorate in English, focusing on Old English and Old English charms. Having taught as a graduate assistant throughout her graduate programs, she secured positions at Suffolk County Community College and C. W. Post — now LIU Post — where she taught the requisite courses in composition. Yet her true passion flourished when teaching such courses as comparative literature and especially sexism in literature.

She learned to juggle the responsibilities of child rearing with its carpools, class mom duties, music lessons and orthodontist appointments with her professional career. And when she found herself longing to write, she secured an editorial position at The Village Times. She covered various news-oriented stories, but thrived writing her column which shed a comical light on the usually mundane details of everyday life situations. 

After several years at The Village Times, Teri ventured out with a few other colleagues to start a monthly magazine, Suffolk, which highlighted news and human-interest stories throughout the county. The magazine, while beautiful in format, only lasted four issues. But it provided a plethora of knowledge about the structure and requirements of running a published venture. 

Teri accepted a position as advertising director at the Three Village Herald and put her understanding of good copy along with her newfound appreciation for paid and plentiful advertising to work.

After several successful years at the Three Village Herald, Teri again ventured out, with Kathy

Golimowski, and established a successful advertising agency, Pentek Advertising. Throughout its history as a women-owned business, Pentek designed striking logos, sophisticated brochures and beautiful ads, winning numerous BOLI (Best of Long Island) Awards along the way. As Teri eyed retirement, she accepted a lucrative buyout of Pentek by Cameron Advertising where she continued to service her clients for several years until she left the field.

All of Teri’s professional insights and successes do nothing to illuminate the person that she was or really the team that she and Irwin became. During the 1960s and ’70s, Teri and Irwin sat on drug councils and worked to advance civil rights, equal rights, and women’s rights and reproductive rights. 

Teri and Irwin were active in their children’s education and PTOs at each of the schools the children attended. Teri and Irwin helped grow and sustain their synagogue, North Shore Jewish Center, and both were active on its executive board and the various search committees over time. Both Teri and Irwin remained active in their community, holding board positions: Teri for Smithtown Library and Irwin, The Waterfront Commission. 

Teri and Irwin traveled the globe extensively with friends and family always broadening their horizons and laughing along the way. Teri and Irwin remained completely enthralled with their children and grandchildren, and all the activities that go with that.

Irwin Bardash passed away on Nov. 19, 2020, after 63 years of marriage. While it was hard to imagine a life without her Irwin, Teri continued to attend her various book clubs and social gatherings, first via Zoom during COVID-19 and then back in person, and participate in family activities until she passed away on Dec. 28, 2023. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to Barnard College in memory of Teri Kaplan Bardash, Class of 1957, at: giving.barnard.edu.