Leon Fishbein PHD

Leon, along with his identical twin brother Larry, were born on October 27, 1923 to parents Isadore and Pauline and was raised in Brooklyn, NY with his older sister Sylvia. Leon's parents, Jewish immigrants from Russia, ran a small grocery store in which he worked throughout his younger years.Leon attended Boys High, graduating at age 16, and went on to Brooklyn College. When WWII broke out, he volunteered for the Army Air Force and served honorably for four years as a radio operator. After the war, Leon resumed his studies at Brooklyn College where he met Bozena Havlik, the love of his life, in the Chemistry lab.He went on to graduate school at Perdue University in Lafayette, Indiana where his first son William was born. Leon earned a Ph.D in Chemistry and went on to a long and distinguished career in the industry - beginning at US Vitamin and at the US Navy Ordinance Lab at Indian Head, MD where his son Peter was born.In the mid 1950's, the family moved to South Mountain Road, New City, NY where they lived for many years and where his youngest son Paul was born.Leon served in senior management positions at W. R. Grace Company and later at Borden Chemical in Leominster, MA from which he retired at age 70. During those years at Borden, they lived in Harvard, MA. He was a well regarded expert in his field and travelled the world in his role as a technical troubleshooter.After retirement, he continued consulting for Borden as well as volunteering at the International Executive Service Corps traveling to Ukraine, Bulgaria and the Dominican Republic, providing technical support to developing companies.Leon enjoyed a long life spending time with his beloved family. He tried his hand at golf with his two grandsons, Nick and Henry, but mostly stayed fit gathering wood for the wood stove at their home on South Mountain Rd.He was an avid student of history - especially WWII, a loyal baseball fan of the New York and later San Francisco Giants and a collector of US stamps.In the last few years, he enjoyed going down to his shore home in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ near Peter and his family. His daily walks to the library ended just days before he died. He is survived by many who loved him.Family will receive visitors on Saturday from 9-10:30am with remembrances from 10:30-11:30am at Michael J. Higgins Funeral Service Inc., Congers, NY. Interment will follow at Fred Loescher Cemetery.

If you would like to make a donation in Leon's name, please send to Doctors Without Borders, USA, P.O. Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030.