Benjamin Haber

Benjamin Haber was born on January 17, 1928 in his home in Middle Village Queens. He was the fifth child of Lena and Hyman Haber. He loved to tell family that he was a 10th birthday present for his adored oldest sister Frieda whose birthday was January 16, 1918.

His strong sense of family and community were formed and nurtured in that house in Middle Village. His love and respect for his immigrant mother Lena was a guiding light for him as he built a life of meaning and purpose. He leaves behind his beloved wife Ethyl of almost 70 years, his children Carl and Emily and their spouses Beth McCoy and Josh Abrams. His adored grandchildren Matthew and his wife Sophie, Isaac, Theodore, and Lena and his greatgrandchild Ellis. Ben, aka “Uncle Moishe” was loved by his many nieces and nephews and their children. He liked to say that “Everything begins and ends with family.” He will be sorely missed by all of his family.

Ben believed in family, hard work, moral integrity, humor, and the goodness in people. He instilled those values in his children and grandchildren. He was the first of his generation to attend college and then law school. The importance and value of education, from primary through advanced degrees was a value in which he strongly believed and instilled in his children and grandchildren. He loved to tell jokes and to find the humor in life. He worked from the age of 14 on. He proudly put himself through law school waiting on tables – he was always a generous tipper because he said the servers might need money for tuition. He enjoyed and took pride in his over 40-year career as an attorney in his private law practice. He loved his office on John Street where on July 4, 1976 we watched the Tall Ships and fireworks in celebration of the 200th birthday of America from the window of that office overlooking the Hudson River.

Ben loved the outdoors. He cultivated the prettiest garden in the neighborhood – he loved to give flowers to children as they walked by, and he took such pleasure when one time a bride and groom asked to be photographed in his garden. He took up skiing in his early twenties, when that wasn’t a regular past-time for a Jewish kid from Queens. He passed on his love skiing to his children and grandchildren, all of whom are avid skiers and all enjoy the outdoors.

He was an activist – fighting for the preservation of Flushing Meadows Park against corrupt politicians, standing up for small business owners against encroaching development, and writing countless letters to the New York Times and the Queens Chronicle when he saw an injustice. He was featured in the book “City for Sale” about his fight to block a Grand Prix raceway from being built in Flushing Meadows Park because he said the park was there for people who didn’t have fancy summer homes. He was even invited to Australia to speak at a rally against a Grand Prix raceway project there.

Ben was a self-taught carpenter, even though he liked to tell you he flunked shop in middle school. His home, and the homes of his children are filled with his beautiful furniture. After retirement, he took up sculpting. He was particularly proud of a holocaust inspired piece he made that is displayed in synagogues in Queens and Boston and the Holocaust Center at Temple Judea in Manhasset.

Ben and Ethyl built a warm and loving home in Queens for their son and daughter. They enjoyed the theatre, concerts, traveling, and cultivating a life-long love of learning together. He loved to write stories about his childhood growing up in Middle Village. A favorite for all of us was a story about the women who baked treats for Bar Mitzvahs in the hot ovens at Eichel’s Bakery that weren’t being used as Shabbos approached. It is a bit cliché, but Ben really embodied the American “rags to riches” storyline. Papa Hymie was a tailor and Bubbe Lena sewed ties. He built a life full of the riches of love and family and the resources to enjoy life’s pleasures with his wife and children and grandchildren.

A Funeral Service will be held at Schwartz Brothers-Jeffer Memorial Chapels, 114-03 Queens Blvd, Forest Hills, NY 11375, US, on September 20, 2026, from 10:15 am to 11:00 am. Rabbi Moses Birnbaum to officiate.

A Committal Service will follow at Mount Hebron Cemetery, 130-04 Horace Harding Expy, New York, NY 11367, US, on September 20, 2026, from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm.