Mildred Slawsky

Mildred "Mimi" Slawsky passed away on August 16 at the Villa Crest Nursing and Retirement Center in Manchester, New Hampshire, at the age of 97 after a long period of decline.

Mimi was born on June 21, 1923, in New York City, the older of Sol and Gus Brafman's two daughters. She was an accomplished dress designer and craftswoman who had an amazing talent for sewing and knitting. Mimi always enjoyed sharing her talents with children of friends and family; all were delighted to receive beautiful sweaters and other knitted clothes.

Mimi was always proud of her service in the military during World War II. After the war, at the age of 29 – beyond the age in the 1950s when young women were expected to marry - Mimi was set up on a blind date with Leo Slawsky. Both had been Sergeants in the service. It was love at first sight. Leo and Mimi were married three months after that first date. They were blessed with a wonderful, loving 34 years of marriage, living for most of those years near Albany in Loudonville, New York.

As her two children entered high school, always looking to serve others, Mimi decided to take a course in braille transcription. She devoted herself to mastering braille and became certified by the National Braille Association. Mimi took on many transcription projects over many years as a volunteer with the NBA, specializing in transcribing textbooks for blind and vision-impaired college students. Some of her books are still available at the Library of Congress. Following that same path, Mimi persuaded the Sisterhood of Temple Beth Emeth in Albany to set up a recording studio where she built a program to record "books on tape". On many occasions during those years, Mimi would get a phone call asking whether it might be possible to record a special book, and the caller would be delighted to tell her he recognized her as the voice of the last book he had read.

Mimi's husband, Leo, passed away in 1986. Although suffering from dementia during her last years, Mimi's intelligence and sense of humor shone through. She was loved by many of the wonderful nurses at Villa Crest.

Mimi is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Michael Boivin of Castleton-on-Hudson, New York; her son, David Slawsky of Manchester, New Hampshire; her two granddaughters, Abbey Greenbaum and Sarie Bott; as well as cousins, nephews, and their children from Massachusetts, Brooklyn, Atlanta, Chicago, Florida, Hawaii, Israel and Canada. Mimi was predeceased by her younger sister, Barbara. Mimi's life extended beyond the lives of the many amazing four-legged loves of her life: Tippy, Oliver & Wendell, Benjamin and, most recently, Maggie.

ARRANGEMENTS: No services will be held at this time. Assisting the family with arrangements is the Cremation Society of NH, Manchester.

The family requests that those who wish to express sympathy consider a memorial through Treegivers, www.treegivers.com, or a contribution to the National Braille Association, https://www.nationalbraille.org/support/.

To view Mildred's Online Tribute, send condolences to the family, or for more information, visit www.csnh.com.