Michael S. Mouacdie

Michael S. Mouacdie, a resident of West Nyack, NY since 1978, passed away peacefully on November 29, 2017; he was 93. Michael was born on September 9, 1924 in Brooklyn, NY to Syrian immigrant parents. His father, Salim, was a NYC restaurant owner, and his mother, Delina, was a furrier (seamstress of fur coats). He led an active life; he was a loving father, a husband, a companion, a brother, a son, a step-father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, a supportive uncle, a trusted friend, and respected businessman.

When he was 3 years old, the family moved to Park Ridge, NJ where he grew up with his sister, Leila. When Michael started kindergarten, his sister, Leila, cried so badly that her brother got to go to school and she didn’t that their mother requested the teacher’s permission for Leila to tag along. Michael was shyer than Leila and together, they learned English in kindergarten and then refused to speak Syrian once in the 1st grade.

Michael was also known as Mitchel in his younger years because his father preferred the name Mitchel even though he was born, Michael. However, Michael didn’t know his birth name until entering Park Ridge High School when they requested a copy of his birth certificate. From then on, Mitch chose to be known as Michael or Mike. In his senior year, all his male classmates were registering for military service in WWII. Michael attempted to join up, too. However, each branch of the military declined him because he’d suffered 3 concussions during high school. Michael was very disappointed. He wanted to join, but couldn’t, which explains why he was so proud of his son, Lance, and daughter, Karen, for enlisting in the Army and USAF, respectively. So instead of going to war, he moved to Otego, NY, and lived on his cousin’s dairy farm. Years later, he returned to Park Ridge, NJ.

All in all, Michael had about 17 different types of jobs to include being a shoe salesman, a truck driver, and a tradesman involved in various home construction specialties (roofing, plumbing, framing, etc.). In 1950, his sister, Leila, and her husband, Coley, decided they wanted Michael to embark on building them a Cape Cod home in Maywood, NJ, from start to finish. Their home became Michael’s first total house build; an achievement he completed in about a year with his sister as his main helper. Working together, their brother and sister partnership created a host of humorous stories. One such story was when Coley held Michael in place on the roof by his feet, while Michael cut the roof plywood with a skill saw. Coley’s job was to lower Michael down the roof as needed so he could cut the boards. At one point, Coley misunderstood Michael and thought he wanted to get down, so Coley just let go of Michael’s feet! Michael started sliding down the roof with his skill saw in hand. Thankfully, he survived the plunge and his sister survived laughing about it. Afterwards, Michael decided to undertake building himself a Ranch home in Hillsdale, NJ, and the rest became history as he went on into the home construction business with his cousin, also named Michael.

He placed his footprint upon Rockland County, living in Valley Cottage, Nanuet, Spring Valley, and Pearl River; and also in New Jersey, living in Park Ridge, Maywood, and Hillsdale. He built many homes in the northern NJ, and in the Pearl River and Nanuet areas; even naming streets after his two sons and his sir name: Lance Court and Paul Court in Chestnut Ridge, and Mouacdie Drive in Pearl River. Michael eventually tried his hand at excavation. Michael discovered he loved to ‘dig in the dirt’ more than he enjoyed being a builder, and an excavator was born.

Michael established and owned Mouacdie Construction Corporation in 1976, Phoenix Excavator Corporation in 1977, Mouacdie Excavation Corporation in 1988, and Mouacdie Enterprises LLC in 1995. His companies’ workmanship is embedded forever all over Rockland and Orange counties in NY, and Bergen County, NJ. One company review was: “Nice People, Great workers and the name is hard to say!”

Michael was that one special person who affected the lives of more people than can be counted. Michael’s offers of love, friendship, and expressions of appreciation abound. Michael is survived by his long time, beloved significant other, Judie Ellen; his children, Bonnie Lee (Ahrens), Lance Michael, and Karen (Reeves); his sister, Leila Meyerer; daughter-in-law, Laurena; grandchildren, Cherie Lee (Hubbard), Jessica Ann, Leah Marie, Zoe Alishea (Reeves), and Nikki Alexis (Strubbe); great grandchildren, Matthew Michael (Downer), Michael Edward (Downer), Eddie Thomas (Freeman), Brianna Leigh (Freeman), Bryson Nicholas (Hubbard), Cyrus Gabriel, Sylvia Quinn, and Augusto (Strubbe IV); his step-daughters, Toni (Sinatra), Tammi (Richard), Lynn Mona (Santerre) and Dale (Hanley), and their children, along with many nieces, nephews, cousins, and spouses of family members. Michael had a wide circle of friends and colleagues. His legacy extends beyond anything anyone could imagine.

Michael is predeceased by his son, Paul Michael; his granddaughter, Carolyn Lee (Downs); his step-daughters, Terri Lee (Richard) and Mary Ann (Hanley). Michael was cremated and his ashes will be buried in the warmth of the springtime (late April) during a private graveside service. Michael S Mouacdie will be greatly missed by all.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Michael's memory to Disabled American Veteran (DAV) chapter 144.