Lester M Reiss

Arrangements under the direction of Riverside-Nassau North Chapel. Lester M. Reiss lived a life of adventure: playing professional baseball, leading troops into Germany to liberate a concentration camp, and traveling to every corner of the globe. But the biggest adventure of his life started when Estelle Weinberg took what was supposed to be a temporary job at his father’s Hunter, NY hotel. Next week, Lester and Elly would have celebrated 69 years of marriage.

Reiss, 94, died Saturday of heart failure at a hospital in Florida, where he and Elly had spent the winters for the last thirty years.

Born in New York City, Lester received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from New York University, where he also completed coursework for a doctorate. While at NYU, he played baseball and football, and went on to play professional baseball for the Albany Senators, the farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

He was on the team’s roster when, in 1941, Lester signed up for the Army, planning to serve a year and return in time for the next baseball season. Instead, he quickly climbed the ranks of the 12th Armored Division, also known as the “Hellcats.” The Division arrived late in the European campaign, charging through Germany, capturing towns and liberating the Landsberg concentration camp.

Lester never spoke about what he saw in battle. Every letter he sent home to Elly reported only that all was well, and nothing was happening.

When the war ended, Lester was assigned to General Dwight Eisenhower’s staff and charged with creating an athletics program for all soldiers in the European theater. The idea was to keep the men busy until they could return home. Lester set up golf tournaments, baseball games, swim meets and more. He was honorably discharged from the Army as a Lt. Colonel.

Lester’s son Steven was born while he was overseas, and daughter Cynthia followed four years later. Lester and Elly raised their family first in Levittown, then in Bellmore. Lester turned down an administrative position with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and after a brief stint as a classroom teacher, he decided to enter the business world. Sales and marketing proved to be a natural fit.

Lester spent about 40 years in the printing industry, marketing and selling giant printing presses. Industry awards covered an entire wall in his home. Business took him all over the world, and Elly often traveled with him. When Lester retired in 1983 at the age of 67, he was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Heidelberg USA, and the company’s highest-ranking American executive. He remained a member of the Board at Heidelberg, and served as Advisor to the President, troubleshooting issues around the world.

Retirement for Lester and Elly meant playing golf at least four times a week, traveling to more than a dozen countries and almost every state in the Union, and raising money for the UJA Federation of New York. Dinners were spent with friends, weekends at the theater and holidays with their adoring family.

They doted on their four grandchildren, danced at their three granddaughters’ weddings, and last year, they welcomed their first great-grandchild.

Lester will be missed and forever loved by his family and friends, most of all by beloved wife Elly; son Steven Reiss of Brookfield, CT and his wife Elsa; daughter Cynthia Schwartz of North Caldwell, NJ and her husband Richard; granddaughter Rachel Buckley of Boulder, CO, her husband Mark and their son Jacob; granddaughter Jamie Strait of Hoboken, NJ and her husband Matt; grandson Phil Reese; and granddaughter Sara Laufer of Weehawken, NJ and her husband Kris. Through them, the adventure continues…

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to the UJA Federation or Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.