October 29, 1938 - October 23, 2020
Born in 1938 to Harry and Eva Gindoff, Bertram Paul Gindoff was raised in
Riverdale in the borough of the Bronx, NYC, with his siblings Alan and Joan. His
father Harry and his Uncle Frank had emigrated from Bialystok, Poland to form a
textile business and his mother Eva was a psychotherapist.
Bert adored his sister Joan, whom he credited with teaching him how to read as
a child and how to drive as a teenager. They enjoyed trips together, whether it
was to the beaches of Florida or the Catskills, as children and as adults. With his
well traveled older brother Alan, Bert had many adventures, including a spur of
the moment jaunt to Cuba that ended with a hasty departure on the last
commercial flight out of Havana in July 1953.
Bert graduated from Peekskill Military Academy in Peekskill NY, and received his
Bachelor of Arts in Business from NYU. From there he went to the US Navy’s
Officer Candidate School in Newport Rhode Island, graduating in June 1962. He
was on active duty until 1965, spending much of his service in the Mediterranean
aboard the USS Boston.
Bert moved to Houston in 1970 to take a position at Joske’s. Over the decades
he also worked at Foley’s, Noel, Star, Ethan Allen, and Accents, retiring in 2018.
When Bert moved to Houston he reunited with an old friend from his Navy days,
Rollo Storey. Bert was working at Joske’s, and Rollo decided they should have
lunch with another friend of his who worked at nearby W. J Sloane. That friend
was Pamela Childress, and she and Bert were married in 1971.
With the marriage came four year old Erica, and Harrison was born five years
later. Erica would call Bert the great steadying influence of her childhood.
Harrison remembers the big Sunday morning breakfasts Bert would make when
he was a kid, and grew up to cook for his father as an adult. Both of the kids
remember Bert teaching them how to drive, with Erica taking the wheel of his
black Mercury Grand Prix at the age of thirteen.
Although the marriage to Pam ended in divorce, they remained close throughout
Bert’s life and celebrated holidays and milestones as a blended family.
Erica’s father, Charley Herndon, called Bert his “husband-in-law”, and always
said that “when he walked Erica up the aisle, Bert would be on her other arm”.
And that is exactly how it happened, when Erica married Scott McCready.
In 2001 Bert’s grandson James was born. From the start Bert took James out to
eat exotic ethnic foods and cheer at baseball games. On the occasion of James’
graduation this May, Bert made a moving toast expressing his pride and pleasure
in the person James had grown to be.
Bert enjoyed exploring new restaurants, cars, and travel. Throughout his life he
was a man who made friends and kept them. He had a standing Monday lunch
date with fellow Bronx transplant Marvin Sussman that spanned decades,
enjoying restaurants high and low. Marvin remembers Bert pulling into the
dealership on Kirby “just to look” and leaving with a new car- three different
times! He also loved going to dinner with his dear friends Denise and Jennette.
When his brother Alan was stationed in Africa Bert’s travel there began a lifelong
interest in African art. He also enjoyed visiting his nieces and nephew at
his brother’s family home in Lyon, France, and for his 80th birthday he gave
himself a Dean Dalton Tours cultural trip to Vietnam. His longtime friend Bette
Lenz was on that trip and reports that by the second day everyone in the group
wanted to sit at Bert’s table.
Throughout Bert’s life he enjoyed sports as a participant as well as a fan,
whether it was cheering for the New York Yankees, the Houston Rockets or
playing third base with his senior softball team Saleem & Associates. He played
lacrosse and baseball in his youth and if it weren’t for the Covid he would have
been playing senior league softball and fierce YMCA pickleball up to the end of
his life.
In November 2004 Bert met Susan Peak. Their first date was lunch at Benji’s in
Rice Village, where they engaged in a long repartee about whether a song that
was playing was originally a Beatles song. She was impressed with the well
dressed interesting guy, and that began years of laughter and excursions. Their
last trip together was a weekend in Brenham visiting friends Bette Lenz and Tom
Buzzi.
Bert was preceded in death by his parents Harry and Eva Gindoff and his brother
Alan Gindoff. He is survived by his sister Joan Gindoff, his son Harrison Gindoff,
daughter and son-in-law Erica and Scott McCready, grandson James McCready,
sister-in-law Anne Gindoff, nephews and nieces Alan Gindoff, Frank Gindoff,
Virginie Gindoff, and Julie-Anne Lutfi, former wife Pamela Tredway, and his
significant other Susan Peak, as well as so many dear friends.
On the last night of his life, Bert dined with his son, his daughter, his grandson,
the mother of his children, and his dear Susan.
The menu was pizza and the venue was the back deck, a night made precious
and special by being a rare Covid era get together. Bert was in good health,
great spirits, and surrounded by loved ones.
The following morning he would fall prey to a heart attack, just one week before
his 82nd birthday.
Bert left us so suddenly and too soon and will be deeply missed.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Bo’s Place www.bosplace.org , the
Southeastern Guide Dogs www.guidedogs.org or a charity of your choice.
FAMILY
Erica McCreadyDaughter
Harrison GindoffSon
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