Theodore Fishman: U.S. Army vet and engineer

September 14, 2023 at 12:26 a.m.

Theodore (Ted) Fishman, 94, of Rye Brook, died of natural causes Aug. 22, 2023.

He was born Sept. 7, 1928 in Brooklyn to Benjamin Fishman and Blossom (Mintz) Fishman and grew up on Lenox Avenue in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn.

He attended Stuyvesant High School, where he developed his lifelong interest in science and engineering.

Following his secondary schooling, he operated a radio repair business in Brooklyn until he was drafted into the U.S. Army, serving one tour of duty in Korea as a radio operator, achieving the rank of corporal, and becoming an expert marksman.

After his discharge from the military, he attended Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute on the G.I. Bill and obtained his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, ultimately becoming a Licensed Professional Engineer.

His engineering career spanned more than 40 years, including working at Hazeltine, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Litton Industries, Aerospace Avionics, Ideal Toy Company, and finally establishing his own private consulting practice from which he retired.

He married Roberta Arvine in 1961, settling first in Patchogue, N.Y. and later in Brookhaven, where they had two sons, Philip and Michael.

The couple were divorced in 1974.

He met Miriam (Mimi) Bobrow Raphael through their membership in Mensa, and they married in 1986.

They lived in Rye Brook, where they enjoyed 37 happy years of marriage and were longtime members of K.T.I. in Port Chester.

His expanded family included three step-daughters (Judy, Susan (Sooki) and Ruth), and grew to include nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

His lifelong interest in steam engines led to his founding the Long Island Live Steamers (LILS) club in 1966 which promoted the development and use of 1/8-inch scale model steam engines that could pull passenger cars around both a ground-level and elevated track in a portion of Southaven County Park (Suffolk County), providing rides to the public at regular club meets.

They completed the first loop of a ground-level track in 1973 and have continued to expand the track layout and the locomotives that run at the track over the years.

Mr. Fishman traveled to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York’s Finger Lakes region, and England to view and participate in various livestream events over the years, and remained active with the LILS, including celebrating the club’s 50^th anniversary in 2016.

He is survived by his wife, Mimi, his sons Philip (Ann Musselman) and Michael (Julie Sherlock Fishman), his stepdaughters, Judy Raphael (James Russell) and Ruth Raphael (Teemu Merivaara), and step son-in-law Ken Wheeland, as well as nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.