OBITUARY Herbert Pattin November 30, 1924 – December 11, 2018 Herbert “Herb” Bernard Pattin passed away peacefully at the age of 94 on December 11, 2018. A memorial service will be held December 18 at 10:00 a.m. at Riverside Memorial Chapel, 21 West Broad Street, Mount Vernon. Herb was born November 30, 1924 in New York. His parents Louis and Lena had an apartment for low income tenants that was part of a pilot program that provided social amenities and activities for residents that were otherwise difficult to experience during the depression. It was here, in the basement of his apartment building, that Herb began a lifelong passion for music, the theater and art. While in high school, Herb swam for the varsity team. He maintained his passion for the sport his whole life and swam regularly into his eighties. He was adamant that swimming was a skill everyone needed to acquire. In addition to swimming, Herb was an excellent skier. He was a member of a national ski association and helped build an early ski dorm in Waitsfield, VT. As often as he could, he took his children, niece and nephew skiing. After high school and a job or two, Herb attended the Casey Jones School of Aeronautics where he trained to become an aircraft mechanic. He worked for the Army Air Corps as a civilian as he was too young to enlist or be drafted. Already trained and skilled, he remained in his position after he was drafted in 1942. His dedication to service and country continued after his discharge from the Air Corps as he signed on twice for duty in the reserves and served for a total of more than ten years. After the War, Herb continued to live in New York. He had many friends and was a jazz devotee. He and friends made many visits to New York’s jazz clubs of the 1940s and ‘50s. He expanded his love of music to opera and other classical forms and throughout his life enjoyed as many live performances as he could attend. He shared this passion fervently with his children. During the post war years, he was employed as plumber. While he was exceedingly skilled, his boss suggested to him that he use his talents and skills in other ways by taking advantage of the GI Bill, college benefits. So, while working full time as a plumber, Herb enrolled at Polytechnic Institute of New York where he earned two engineering degrees in five years. He remained a mechanical engineer for his entire post college career and provided civil engineering consultation as an adjunct to his regular job. Contributions of his work can be seen throughout the skyline of New York as he was involved in the design and construction of many landmark buildings of the ’60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Herb’s mechanical skills were remarkable and were so across many disciplines. He could fix just about anything. He was equally adept with a slide-rule or a calculator. He was always ready to help anyone he believed he could be of assistance to but remained fiercely independent throughout his life and was proud of his many abilities. In 1961 he married Helen Horowitz who predeceased him in 2011. In retirement Herb enjoyed being with his family and friends. He treasured time spent on crossword puzzles. He traveled and continued to live life to the fullest. His close friends at the Men’s Club and Table 11 were very important to him and he looked forward to all of their events. A “great Dad”, Herb was a loving father, uncle and friend. He is survived by his children Lisa and her husband Alan and Andrew and his partner Melissa Hersh, niece Julie Welkowitz Keogh, nephew Larry Welkowitz, sister-in-law Sylvia Horowitz, nieces and nephews Joemily, Stephanie, Andrew Jessee, Ed & Daniel, very special friend Doris Sass and Table 11. The family also acknowledges the generous and loving care he received from his aide Pamela. Memorial Donations can be made to the National Kidney Foundation online or at National Kidney Foundation 30 East 33rd Street New York, NY 10016 Send Sympathy Gifts Show Your Support Share Obituary share to facebook share by email share link Receive Notifications
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Herbert Pattin 2018.
Death notice for the town of: mount-vernon, state: New York