Alvin S. Rothstein

January 25, 2012

Alvin S. "Buddy" Rothstein, 90, of Mountain Top, passed away on Wednesday, January 25, 2012, after a brave and spirited year-long battle with cancer. Son of David and Mary (Propper) Rothstein, he was born November 2, 1921, in Wilkes-Barre. A proud 1939 graduate of Meyers High School, where he played varsity football, Buddy went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. Buddy enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, became a pilot, and was assigned to the 8th Air Force, 487th Bomb Group, achieving the rank of First Lieutenant. Buddy and crew, including lifelong friend Joseph Brown of Scranton, were assigned to a B-17 Bomber and commenced flying their first of 17 missions. The crew was shot down four times, including forced landings in Soviet-occupied Poland, and in February 1945, in the North Sea. That mission ended in rescue by a sea plane piloted by a Hazleton native, the late Edward Chipkevitch. Buddy was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and three air medals for combat missions, and has recounted his wartime experiences in interviews broadcast on public television station WVIA. Following military service, Buddy married Olyphant native, Beulah Spitz, and moved to York, where he operated a soda bottling plant. After 13 years, he sold the plant and returned to Wilkes-Barre to found Dairy Dan, one of the first soft ice cream truck franchisors. In 1963, Buddy embarked on a career in the real estate business, work he continued until soon before his passing. Buddy founded Rothstein Inc. Realtors, a land development company, and a residential construction firm, creating Highland Woods in Mountaintop and Quail Hill in Pittston Township and Dupont. Buddy was active in many local organizations, including Temple B'nai B'rith, the Greater Wilkes-Barre Association of Realtors, the Building Industry Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania, B'nai B'rith Housing for the Elderly and Handicapped, the Jewish Community Center and Wilkes-Barre Rotary Club, all of which he served in leadership roles. He worked with a passion for Wilkes-Barre Rotary's international youth exchange program for 20 years and, along with Beulah, led a team of businesswomen on a speaking tour of Sri Lanka and Southern India in 1989. Buddy was recognized by the Ethics Institute of Northeast Pennsylvania in 1997 for maintaining high standards of business ethics in his profession. The family would like to express their deep appreciation to Hospice Community Care for their outstanding support. Buddy is survived by Beulah, his wife of 66 years; sister; Harriet Pooley; Columbia, S.C.; brother, Paul, Philadelphia; children, James, Wyomissing, Robert, Seattle, Daniel, New York City, and Gail Forstater, Kansas City; seven grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and cousins, nieces and nephews, all of whom have brought him great joy. The funeral will take place at 1 p.m. Friday in Temple B'nai B'rith, 408 Wyoming Ave., Kingston, with Rabbi Roger Lerner officiating. Interment will be in B'nai B'rith Cemetery, Hanover Township. Arrangements are by Rosenberg Funeral Chapel Inc., Wilkes-Barre. Condolences may be sent by visiting Buddy's obituary at www.rosenbergfuneralchapel.com .