Alvin Lesser

Alvin “Al” Lesser of Boca Raton Florida, formerly of Wantagh, New York, passed away peacefully at age 98 on October 2, 2020. He was the son of Joseph Lesser and Sarah Margolies Lesser, who owned and operated Lesser Lodge, a hotel in White Sulphur Springs in the lower Catskill Mountains of New York. During the summers, Alvin worked as a waiter and aided his parents in running the hotel. He met the love of his life, Evelyn Caplan of Hempstead, New York, at the hotel and married her in 1947. For over seventy years, they enjoyed a loving relationship. Alvin is survived by their only child, Gary Steven Lesser of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Alvin was born in Manhattan in 1922, and graduated Boys High in Brooklyn. He attended New York University, joined the Army, and after his discharge returned to NYU, graduating with a BS in Accounting.

Alvin served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1945. In January 1945, his Division (the “71st”) was sent to the European Theater of Operations, where they fought through France, Germany, and into Austria. His Division liberated Gunskirchen Lager, a concentration camp. These events affected Alvin for his entire life. After his discharge, Alvin opened an accounting office on Long Island in 1948 and built a successful practice. He also became a real estate broker.

In 1987, Alvin sold his accounting practice and he and Evelyn retired to Boca Raton. Alvin spent much of his spare time playing doubles tennis, becoming a master bridge player, and achieving the rank of “Duffer” after many years of playing golf. Alvin was a member and Quartermaster for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW Post 10556).

Alvin authored four award-winning books reflecting his life and interests. At the age of 89, he wrote his first book, Basic Accounting Simplified, an illustrated primer for beginning and struggling accounting students. When Alvin was 91, he wrote Memories of The Catskills: The Making of a Hotel, a candid and charming memoir about the rise and fall of the “Borsht Belt.” Anecdotes in the book range from Kirk Douglas’s father calling out ‘cash for cloths’ and Jerry Lewis appearing in the hotel dancing with a broom, to matzoh balls, fried food, and boyhood memories of catching fish bare-handed in a stream. At age 93, he wrote 57+ Bridge Conventions Made Easy. This was followed by Quick Reference to Bridge Conventions, for intermediate and advanced bridge players.

After 72 years of marriage, he lost his wife Evelyn in May 2018. Shortly after, he moved to the Independent Living Facility at Stratford Court, where he spent his final years playing bridge and poker with friends and dancing with his sister-in-law, Bevelyn Caplan. Alvin had a wicked sense of humor and was in tip-top condition to the end, racing down the hallway on his scooter. Shortly before his death, he cast his vote by mail for Joe Biden and the entire Democratic Party. Family and friends will miss Al dearly.

Alvin was laid to rest next to his wife Evelyn in the family mausoleum at the Star of David Memorial Gardens Cemetery. Donations in Al’s name can be made to VFW Post 10556, 9400 W Palmetto Park Rd. Ste 2, Boca Raton, FL 33428.

The Seventy-First Came To Gunskirchen Lager, E. Kieser KG, Druckerel u. Verlag, Augsburg (1945). The pamphlet was produced by the U.S. Army after they liberated a concentration camp in Austria called Gunskirchen Lager. The 71st arrived just days before VE day. The pamphlet recounts in detail and with very graphic photos the tragedy they found in the camp. The pamphlet is available at https://remember.org/full_version.html.