Morris Seidman

February 27, 1929- February 16, 2023

Our father’s life did not start like other children in America. In 1938 at the age of nine, he was shuffled on the SS Neuw Amsterdom which was packed with refugees leaving Nazi Germany and heading to freedom in America. Four days after they left “Kristallnacht'' the night of broken glass happened and Nazi tyranny had begun.

Before we go on about the man who became an icon to many on Wall St. We have to mention his father and mother Kalma and Mala. It was Kalma who had witnessed Nazi atrocities and understood that the Nazi’s were intent on killing every Jew they could. He assembled his family and tried to persuade his brothers and sisters to leave Germany. They chose not too and they ended up in Nazi concentration camps.

The Seidman Family, Kalma,Mala, Morris and his younger brother Harry, arrived in New York on November 4th,1938 as refugees in a country where they could not speak the language and had no money. Kalma got a job as a kosher butcher apprentice and the family took an apartment in the Bronx.

They eventually opened up a Kosher Butcher store in East Flatbush Brooklyn. When my father turned 13, he was given the keys to the car so he could drive to the slaughter house in Manhattan to pick up meat for the store. You see, he was the only person in the family who could read the English highway and street signs. That was my father’s childhood. School, work and survival.

As the Korean War loomed, our father did not want to be drafted. He felt that he owed a great debt to this country and he enlisted in the US Army. He applied to be an officer and was accepted in the Officer

Candidate School (OCS) in Texas. The Army in the 1950’s is not the same as it is today. It was there that he experienced not only anti semitism but racial discrimination as well. In OCS the first to

be ridden out were African Americans and next were Jews. At OCS in Fort Bliss Texas, he

immediately requested that he be able to attend Sabbath services. The commander asked him how he would get to the chapel as it was 20 miles away. Our father said he had a car. The commander dumbfounded… asked the critical question. Was the car registered in Texas and was it insured?

And his answer was “yes sir”. Dad was always prepared and he got the permisson to attend services. They tried anyway they could think of to discourage him. He studied very hard and helped his

other candidates and they in turn helped him. They even tried to court marshall him to no avail.

On July 17th 1953 our father was a proud 2nd Lt in the US Army. Ten days later he married his childhood

sweetheart, the person who taught him English, Sylvia Kaslowitz. In May of 1956 I came into this world and in August of 1959 my Brother David arrived. Our Dad received an honorable discharge

in 1954. His parents pleaded with him to take over the store. He had other ideas. After doing some research Dad felt Wall St was the place for him and he got a job with Arthur Wiesenburger and Co. Mr Wiesenburger was one of the first securities analysts to realize the potential of Mutual Funds. Dad met Arthur Tommaselli who was second in command under Mr.Wiesenburger and he

became my Dad’s mentor and guided him to become a hugely successful stockbroker. During Dad’s 68 year career he advised some of the largest real estate families in New York. As a broker myself I am awed at his accomplishments. His commitment to doing the right thing for the client and providing the best financial advice he could, will be a legacy for all of us now and in the future.

Our Dad told us that we should not cry for him. That he had a great run. We will miss so much of what we had. Our conversations, the luncheons at the Four Seasons,rounds of golf,surf cast fishing off the beach, dinners at the house in East Hampton, martini’s on the deck at twilight, political debates around the table, spending time at temple during shabbat and the high holidays, vacationing together, we will miss it all. You set the bar high and you showed us how to live life right. We love you… Dad…

Morris is survived by his two sons and their wives. Kurt Seidman (Kathy) who followed his father into the investment advice business and is a Director-Investments at Oppenheimer & Co in White Plains NY. David Seidman MD(Laurie) is currently practicing Otolaryngology in Queens, NY. He is further survived by his four grandchildren. Jacob Seidman PHD who received his doctorate in Applied Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania after graduating Harvard University with a BA in mathematics, Victoria Seidman who is in the process of getting her Masters degree in Nursing at Emory University, Lizzy Seidman who is attending SUNY at New Paltz for her Masters in Education, and Kyle Seidman

who graduated from Adelphi University and now is studying computer science. Morris was a very proud grandfather of his grandchildren and we will all miss his guidance and love.

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A chapel service for Morris was held Sunday, February 19, 2023 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM.

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