MEREDITH ---- Harold “Hal” G. Weinreb, 92, of Meredith Bay Colony Club, formerly of Scarsdale, NY, passed away peacefully August 29, 2024, surrounded by his loving family.
Hal was born March 26, 1932, in Brooklyn, NY to the late Jack and Tillie (Garfinkle) Weinreb, Eastern European Jewish immigrants that arrived in New York City, via Canada, prior to the start of WWI.
Hal and his twin sister Rae grew up during the Great Depression in a small brownstone apartment located in the Bensonhurst area of Brooklyn. His father was employed as a typesetter for the Yiddish Daily Forward newspaper. The poor economic conditions of the times made Hal determined to create a better life for his future family.
He graduated from Columbia University with a Chemical Engineering degree and subsequently obtained an MBA degree from Yale University.
Between his time at Columbia and the start of his MBA, he met his wife, Barbara “Bobbie” Weinreb on a blind date set up by a mutual friend. This was the start of a remarkable love story that lasted nearly 70 years.
They were married in a Brooklyn synagogue in June 1958, and initially lived in New Haven while Hal pursued his MBA. They had a son, Steven who was born in June 1959. During this time, Hal served in the USAF during the Korean War and was stationed in Texas. Hal and Bobbie then moved to Hartsdale, NY, where their son Mark was born in December 1962. In 1966, they moved into a rambling Dutch colonial style house in Scarsdale, where Bobbie and Hal lived together until 2023.
Hal had a long, successful career with WR Grace, working as a chemical engineer. Most of the time he traveled by train to his NYC office, leading his young son Mark to think that his father was a “train engineer.” His family always knew that he was almost home from the sound of his happy whistling as he walked up the street from the train station. He also did a lot of travelling for Grace, to places such as England, Japan, and Peru. On occasion, when the trips coincided with a school vacation, his family would accompany him. He had a very narrow and terrifying
escape when a trip to Peru coincided with the devastating 1970 earthquake.
When he wasn’t traveling for work, Hal took his family to other vacation spots such as Martha’s Vineyard and Vermont. During one memorable summer, they went on a long camping/road trip to Florida in their old beaten-down blue Ford station wagon. After retirement, he and Bobbi would continue traveling together to such far way places as places as Israel and Germany.
Family and spirituality were especially important parts of Hal’s life. Many Sundays were spent traveling to his parents and in-laws in Brooklyn. In addition, he and his family spent many happy Passover holidays in Long Island for Seders with his sister Rae Arons and his three nieces. He and his family would also spend many happy weekends with Bobbi’s twin sister Audrey (pre-deceased) and her nearby family.
Synagogue life was also important to Hal. He and his family were long term members of Bet Am Shalom Synagogue in White Plains. His and Bobbie’s social life revolved around their synagogue friends.
Hal’s other love, besides his children, was his enjoyment of completing handy man projects around his home. He built just about every dresser, desk, and bookshelf in the house, and remodeled a couple of bathrooms on his own. Among his accomplishments were creating a non-lethal mouse trap and an outdoor electrical system that kept the water circulating in the backyard Koi Pond during the wintertime so it wouldn’t freeze over and kill the fish. Well into his eighties, he was frequently found climbing up ladders to clean out gutters and fix roof tiles.
He enjoyed quiet time in his house playing chess and pool with his sons as well as going out to Chinese and Kosher deli restaurants with Bobbie. He loved photography and when, his kids were young, he would regale the family of slide shows of all the places he had recently traveled.
Soon after the pandemic, the multiple joint replacements from lifelong osteoarthritis began to cause complications. In early 2024, his family decided to move him and Bobbie up to New Hampshire to be near his son, Mark, and their daughter-in-law Susan. He enjoyed wonderful care from the staff at Meredith Bay Colony Club during the last six months of his life.
Harold is survived by his wife of 66 years, Barbara (Lesser) Weinreb; son Mark Weinreb and wife Susan (Stark) Weinreb of Laconia, NH; sister Rae Aarons of Queens, NY; his son Steven’s widow Cynthia Heller; grandchildren Evan, Madeline, Abby, Daniel, Jeffry, and Abby; step- grandchildren Jennifer, Kevin, and Stephen; and two great-grandchildren, Seth and Elias. He is predeceased by his son Stephen L. Weinreb. In addition, he leaves many nieces, nephews, and cousins, as well as friends from Bet Am Shalom Synagogue and new friends, he met at Meredith Bay Colony Club.
A Funeral Service will be held on Monday, September 2, 2024 at 10:30am in the Carriage House at Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, NH.
Burial will follow the service at the Temple B’Nai Section of Union Cemetery Union Cemetery, Academy Street (please use the Garfield Street entrance due to construction on Academy Street), Laconia, NH.
Shiva will be held at the home of Mark and Susan Weinreb at 21 Brigham Street Laconia, NH, on Tuesday, September 3, 2024 and Thursday September 5, 2024 at 7 pm.
For those who wish, the family suggests memorial contributions in Harold’s name can be made to Temple B’nai Israel, 210 Court Street, Laconia, NH 03246, or Lakes Region Visiting Nurses,186 Waukewan Street, Meredith, NH 03253.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services/603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, NH is assisting the family with the arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial go to wilkinsonbeane.com.