Norman Leit

Norman was born in Brooklyn, NY, the son of the late Philip and Esther Leit. He grew up in Brooklyn, and later Lynbrook on Long Island. He graduated Malverne High School and Lehigh University, with a degree in Mathematics with Honors in 1963. After graduation, he enlisted in the military. He served six years in the 108th Combat Support Squadron of the Air National Guard of New Jersey and the Reserve of the United States Air Force, and was honorably discharged in 1969 with the rank of Staff Sergeant. While serving in the reserves, he began a career as a securities analyst, and met the love of his life, Carol Fonorow, of Valley Stream, NY. They married in 1967.

Norman’s career soon migrated into financial advice and sales, focused on life, health, and disability insurance, and retirement planning. He worked for several larger companies before opening his own firm. He was known in the industry for consistently placing the long term interests of his clients ahead of his own financial interest. Carol and Norman’s first son, David, was born in 1969, and his second son, Richard, was born in 1972. He and Carol built a home and raised their family in Livingston, NJ.

Throughout his life, he was known as a man of exceptional generosity, kindness, and humility. His greatest desire was to be useful to others. He treated his daughters-in-law, Jaci and Karyn, as if they were his own. He took special joy in his grandchildren, Ben, Margery, Jared, and Jeremy, taking an exceptionally active role in helping to raise them, including regularly picking up Jared and Jeremy from elementary school.

In his later years, he suffered from a rare progressive neurological disease that cruelly robbed him of his ability to feel useful to others. Nevertheless, all of those around him continued to feel his warmth, generosity, and kindness, including the incredible health aides with whom he spent so much time in his later years.

In reflecting back on his life, he once wrote, “I know that while it cannot be said that I was a tzadik, I hope it can at least be said that I was a mensch.”

He was.

A funeral service for Norman will be held Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 10:00 AM at Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel, 432 Scotland Road, South Orange, NJ 07079.

Shiva will be observed:

Thursday, 3/30, 7-9, at the home of Karyn & David Leit, 80 Woodland Road, Maplewood, NJ

Friday, 3/31, 3-5, at the home of Karyn & David Leit, 80 Woodland Road, Maplewood, NJ

Sunday, 4/2, 3-5 AND 7-9, at the home of Jaci & Richard Leit, 76 Laurel Avenue, Livingston, NJ

Monday, 4/3, 3-5 AND 7-9, at the home of Jaci & Richard Leit, 76 Laurel Avenue, Livingston, NJ

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Norman's memory may be made to CurePSP, www.psp.org; and United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, www.umdf.org.

Norman fought Progressive Supranuclear Palsy during the last several years of his life. Norman’s grandson, Jared, is a Mito Warrior contending with Kearns-Sayre syndrome, a type of mitochondrial disease, and will be attending college to study biotechnology in order to research rare disease treatments.

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