Shirl Tarko-Halpern

Shirl was born Shirley Tarko in Boston on March 13 1955, the second of two children of Morris (Moishe) Tarko and Minna (Manya) Tarko (nee Krakowski), both Holocaust survivors. Her sister Sarah, seven years older, was born in the Bergen Belsen D.P. camp in Germany, where her parents had met and married. Shirl was a bit premature and struggled to thrive in the hospital, but made it out into the world after some weeks. Her first few months were very difficult, with colic, and throughout early childhood she had ictheosis, a painful skin condition. Shirl grew up in Brookline, where her parents eventually bought a two-flat on Westbourne Terrace, renting out the lower-level apartment. Her father, Morris, was a skilled jeweler who worked for an old line company Shreve, Crump and Lowe. Her mom cared for Sarah and Shirl until Shirl was a little older, and then went to work for Freedman's Bakery. Sarah herself was a second mother to Shirl, caring for her when their mother could not. Her parents were Orthodox, the household observant, and her father in particular very religious. Her parents spoke mostly Yiddish to each other, and a mixture to the kids, perhaps mostly English to Shirl. In spite of and because of their own unimaginable losses they loved Sarah and Shirl fiercely and, not surprisingly, were both over-protective and constant worriers. Shirl was shy, but had a few close friends to whom she was devoted. Already as a child she experienced health issues, both respiratory and skin-related. As she moved into her teen years her health issues faded, and she came into her own at Brookline High School. It was in these years also that her interest in dance and music emerged, as well as her passion for human psychology. After graduating from high school Shirl went to Brandeis University in Waltham, to find some distance from home while remaining close enough to it to get home regularly. At Brandeis she once again made a few close friends, including Jan Levi