Nira Sheintal Stein, age 84, of Maitland, passed away on Tuesday, February 26, 2019, at Advent Health - Altamonte. Nira was born on February 12, 1935, in Tel Aviv, Israel, to the late Solomon and Rosi Fleisher Sheintal.

In 1944, Nira, her parents and her younger brother sailed on the Ile de France, which had been converted to a troop transport during the War, to the United States. Upon arrival, they lived with Nira's maternal grandparents in Washington DC until her father began building homes in suburban Maryland. As he became more successful in these endeavors the family grew - adding two more children.

In her young teens, Nira joined a youth group affiliated with the Montgomery County (MD) Jewish Community Center, where she met Arnold. The rest is history!

Arnold and Nira were married for 64 years and had two children, Larry of Winter Park and Lori (Moshe) of Hod HaSharon, Israel. The family grew to include three grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

After moving to Central Florida, Nira tried out her merchant skills at the CRJ Gift Shop, and then opened The Source, her first Judaic gift shop in Fern Park, near Myron's. She later moved to Orienta Plaza and ultimately to her free standing building on Ronald Reagan Boulevard - across from what is now the Sun Rail Station. She closed the store in 1998, after nearly 20 years of serving the community.

Having family and friends in Israel, Nira and Arnold made nearly 60 round trips to Israel; owning an apartment for about 11 years. They usually made two round trips each year.

In memory of Nira Stein, the family requests contributions to MAZON - the Jewish Response to Hunger (www.mazon.org)

There will be a Memorial Service at Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel, 640 Lee Road, Orlando, on Monday, March 4, at 11:30 AM. Interment was at Palms Memorial Park in Sarasota.