Samuel Trachtenberg

1934 - 2020

Samuel L. Trachtenberg
Samuel L. Trachtenberg, 86, of Greenwich, CT, passed away on April 20, 2020 due to complications from Covid-19. Sam was smart, kind, talented and wickedly funny.
Sam is survived by his wife, Alice McAtee of Greenwich, CT enjoying 32 very happy and devoted years; his daughters, Susan (Mario) Paula of Queens, NY, Mindy (Donald) Miles of Merritt Island, FL and Ilene (Timothy) Grimes of Marietta, GA; grandchildren, Katie Miles, Sarah (Charles) Grounds, Jack, Aidan and William Grimes and Hillary Paula; great-grandchildren Kalea Priester, Kayden and Charlie Grounds; nephew Alan (Shira) Honigstein.
Sam was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1934. At 6 years old, he both went to school and worked to help support his family after his father passed away. He learned to play the drums and was a prominent drummer in a band. Sam also ran errands for Bugsy Siegel, earning $.25 per errand, a lot of money back then.
Sam proudly served his country as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army during the Korean War.
An entrepreneur, Sam purchased a taxi medallion and owned his own cab in the 1960's and 1970's in New York, an interesting time to be a taxi driver. Sam loved to strike up conversations with his riders, including many famous and influential people such as Rocky Graziano, Mohammad Ali, Walter Cronkite, Mike Wallace, Howard Cosell and Dennis Weaver, just to name a few.
In 1973, Sam relocated with his family to Old Greenwich, CT to become co-owner of beloved general merchandise store Cuff's, in the heart of the village. In addition to building a strong connection with the community as a small business owner, Sam was a father figure and role model to the many teenagers who worked for him at Cuff's, becoming known lovingly as Mr. T.
Never one to waste a minute of his time, Sam joined the Greenwich Police Department in the Special Officers Division, spending many hours on patrol when he wasn't at the store. He was the recipient of several police service commendations over many dedicated years of service, including the special police Exceptional Service Award.
Sam was very community oriented and enjoyed being of service, so after selling Cuff's in the late 1980's, Sam became a Vocational Counselor, helping people with mental illness acquire employment. In his later years, he volunteered for several organizations in Greenwich and Stamford, including Greenwich Hospital where he always brought a smile to the patients' faces.
Sam had many creative talents, though known mostly to his family. He never took an art class, yet he was a talented artist who could sketch, paint, and sculpt. He also had a beautiful singing voice and wrote a song or two.
Sam loved history and traveled all over the world, but his greatest past time was ship modeling. Sam was an avid model ship builder, well known in that community all across the country. He was always happy to donate his time, giving advice to other builders or fixing their ships that were in disrepair, requiring a special talent not known to many.
His greatest joy was spending time with his family. He was fiercely proud of his daughters and took great joy in teasing his sons-in-law, all in good humor. He especially loved taking his grandchildren to the local hobby shop to share his love of any and all creative interests.
His loss is deeply felt by his family and he will be sorely missed.
A memorial service will be held later this summer, date to be determined. On behalf of his family, they would like to extend a heartfelt "thank you" to the doctors and nurses at Greenwich Hospital for their kindness and for standing by him as his family was not able to physically be with him due to the virus.