Harold Schechter

Harold Schechter, 95, of Fort Myers, Fla., died April 15, 2023 of natural causes with family at his side. He was born December 28, 1927, in Jersey City, N.J., to Julius and Yetta (Wallace) Schechter. A man of many interests and many talents, he was a rock hound; an oil painter; a lapidary; a musician; a horologist; an angler; and an epicure. He had a great sense of humor. But he was most importantly a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and friend who charmed those around him with his positive outlook and keen mind and captivated them with his storytelling.

Harold attended Dickinson (Jersey City, N.J.) and Emerson (Union City, N.J.) high schools. As a teen he set pins at the local bowling alley before automation took over, and waited tables at Camp Tarigo in Fleischmanns, N.Y. In January 1946 he enlisted in the Army. He completed basic training at Camp Crowder, Mo.; trained as a medic at Fort Sam Houston, Texas; and traveled by ship from Camp Stoneman in San Francisco to Japan, where he spent a year with the 5th Station Hospital at the Johnson Army Air Base. While overseas he played the bass fiddle in a band that performed at the Officer’s Club.

After the service he studied animal husbandry at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; worked on a poultry farm in West Orange, N.J.; and made costume jewelry at the jewelry center in downtown Manhattan. He joined Maxwell House, part of General Foods Corporation, in 1950, married Edna Gold in 1951 and moved to Union City, N.J.

Harold found his avocation as a lab technician at the Maxwell House laboratory in 1967. After living in Jersey City, N.J., for several years, he transferred to the engineering lab at Maxwell House and moved with his family to West Milford, N.J. He was part of a team awarded a patent for freeze drying in 1972, officially a “Method for Producing Enhanced Soluble Foodstuffs,” and in addition to his work with coffee, helped develop Thick and Frosty Shakes. He reluctantly retired in 1986 after Phillip Morris bought General Foods.

Harold, along with Edna, was a proud band parent and fundraiser for the West Milford Township High School marching band in the late 1970s, spinning cotton candy at the annual July 4th picnic at Bubbling Springs Lake and chaperoning band trips. He patiently enjoyed years of band practices.

Harold and Edna moved to the Fort Myers, Fla., area in the early 1990s.

Although Harold rarely complained, when he did, it was about food. His mother was a wonderful cook, and he developed his expertise by doing. His daughters-in-law appreciated the gracious way he helped them improve their technique, offering good advice without condescending. It was one of his many fine traits.

Harold’s wife, Edna, predeceased him in 2011. He is survived by his sister, Edna Goldman of Scottsdale, Ariz.; children, Jay Schechter (Hanne) of Dublin, N.H., and daughter, Susan Meisner (Roland) of Alexandria, Va.; grandchildren Anneka Schechter, Katrine Schechter and Hannah Beth Meisner; and his many friends among the staff and residents of Shell Point Retirement Community, Fort Myers, Fla.

Rabbi Lawrence Dermer of Shalom Life Center, Fort Myers, Fla., officiated at a memorial service at the Arbor Assisted Living Center at Shell Point, and at a graveside service expertly conducted by Hodges Funeral Home at Lee Memorial Park, Fort Myers, Fla., April 16, 2023.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Harold’s name would be appreciated to the Harry Chapin Food Bank https://harrychapinfoodbank.org/, Jewish War Veterans, https://www.jwv.org/give/donate/ or Jewish Federation of Lee and Charlotte Counties https://www.jewishfederationlcc.org/tribute-memorials

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.leememorialparkfuneralhome.com for the Schechter family.