Conrad Bernard Gosset

He is survived by his wife Valerie; daughter Carol Boncelet (former husband Charles Boncelet) of Newark, DE; son Michael Gosset (Marilyn) of Norwalk, CT; grandson Matthew Boncelet (Kimberly); granddaughter Amy Boncelet; sister-in-law Florie Gosset; nieces Lori Gosset and Bonnie (Franklin) Gold; grandniece Michaela Gold and grandnephew Jordan Gold; sisters-in-law Amy Moroney (Paul) and Lucinda Smith, as well as nephews Daniel Moroney, Jonathan Moroney (Claire), niece Sarah Moroney and grandnephew Joseph Moroney. He was pre-deceased by his former wife Joan and his brother Marvin.

He was born April 8, 1932 and raised in Washington Heights, NY, son of Abraham (“Jack”) and Anna (Starr) Gosset. As a young man, he spent many hours working in his father’s deli in lower Manhattan.

After receiving a BS from City College of New York in 1953, he enlisted as a commissioned officer in the Air Force. While in military service, he received a MS in Meteorology from New York University. He served in the military for nine years, in both the US and Europe, and left the Air Force with the rank of Captain.

He started his civilian career as General Manager of a private weather forecasting service at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, NY. After five years, he started his own company, Continental Weather Service, which provided weather forecasts for aviation, industry and municipalities.

In 1964, he received the 18th Seal of Approval for radio weathercasting from the American Meteorological Society. Now, there have been over 200 Seals granted. In 1967, he was staff meteorologist with WCBS-TV in New York City.

Mr. Gosset received many phone calls from attorneys and insurance companies requesting past weather data for insurance claims. To meet this need, he started Weather Surveys in Pleasantville, NY, which he continued to run until his retirement.

To help establish this new branch of meteorology, he coined the phrase “Forensic Meteorology,” for which he is cited in Wikipedia. Judges in 12 states qualified Mr. Gosset as an expert witness in their courtrooms. He was asked to be the opening speaker at the Conference on Forensic Meteorology on November 5, 1976, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society.

After his divorce in the 1970’s, he discovered that there were many single and divorced adults who – in the days before the Internet – didn’t know how to connect. Many singles events existed – such as hiking, tennis, rap sessions, parties and dances – but no way to learn about them.

So he started a monthly magazine, “Datebook,” for singles in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties in New York and Fairfield County, Connecticut. It contained a daily listing of activities for singles, and activities of interest to singles, but no articles.

Mr. Gosset published the Datebook for over 15 years and was instrumental in helping singles connect without the “bar scene.” He received many “thank you” notes from people who met because of the publication and got married.

In his early adulthood, Mr. Gosset was an avid tennis and paddle ball player. He also enjoyed sports car rallying. After his divorce, he became an avid hiker, and met his wife Valerie on a singles hike. In the following years, they hiked throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. He completed the Connecticut, New York and New Jersey portions of the Appalachian Trail, and regularly did volunteer trail maintenance.

Among his happiest memories were hosting annual Passover seders for the entire Gosset family.

The family deeply appreciates the unfailing support from Dr. Heather Sung and the staff at Regional Hospice, who made the last few months much easier.

A graveside service will take place Tuesday, July 27 at 9:45 AM at the Middletown Veteran’s Cemetery, 317 Bow Lane, Middletown, CT. Luncheon and remembrances will follow at the Golf Pavilion at Lyman Orchards, 70 Lyman Road, Middlefield, CT. The family will be receiving visitors at home (Shiva) from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Wednesday and Thursday. Shiva is open to any and all well-wishers, during the above hours, for the purposes of offering condolences.

Attendees are respectfully asked to please wear masks and to respect social distancing during the services for Conrad.

Memorial contributions in Conrad’s name may be sent to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, Washington, DC 20024 or www.ushmm.org.