David Fidelman

David Fidelman told people he was a lucky man.
David was born in Pittsburgh, PA in 1920 to Shaya and Mary (Dickter) Fidelman, who came to this country from Russia and Bessarabia. His earliest recollection, from age 3, is seeing his baby brother, Morris, delivered at home - concluding that he had been brought by the doctor, in his little black bag.
The family moved to New York City when David was 7 years hold, and he grew up swimming in the East River, playing street games with his friends, and going to school - attending Townsend Harris High School, City College of NY, obtaining his Masters in Physics from NYU, he was set to continue to a PhD when World War II hit.
In 1937, some friends set him on a date with Fay (Goldstein), who worked as a sportswear designer, at a swimming pool in Astoria. In 1941 he married her and they welcomed their only child, Miles in 1954.
During the war, David worked for the Naval Ordinance Laboratory, in Washington DC, developing ways to protect ships from magnetic & acoustic mines. He then returned to New York City to work for CBS' research lab, working on both early color television, and in the small group that developed the vinyl long-playing record. He then worked for several defense firms on radar countermeasures, underwater sound measurement, sonar systems, and electromagnetic spectrum displays.
In 1960, he started the Electromagnetic Measurements Corporation to manufacture test instruments, industrial controls, and work on government contracts - working mostly for NASA and the US Air Force. He later closed the firm and went on to consult on both aircraft noise patterns around airports, and designing control equipment for photographic processing machinery serving the graphic arts & medical x-ray industries. David is the author of two books, "Guide to Audio Reproduction," and "Repairing hi-fi systems." He died a life member of the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE).
David and Fay retired to Sun City, AZ in the mid-80's. After losing Fay in 2002, he asked, "I married the love of my life; can I ever get so lucky again?" The answer was yes when he reconnected with a friend, Eleanor Manning who had lost her husband a year earlier. He and Eleanor married in December of 2003 and traveled around the country in an RV, took tours of Europe and enjoyed their later years supporting each other through sickness and in health. When Eleanor passed in early 2017, he asked once again, "Could I ever be so lucky?"
He got lucky again when he moved to the Boston area this year, to live with his son, Miles, and daughter-in-law, Karla spending his final months learning to enjoy the crazy New England weather, finding new places to enjoy in the Nashoba Valley area, and reconnecting with his grandchildren. Luckily, in the past year, an email out of the blue, reconnected David with his Father's family from Russia (now living in the Netherlands), and filled in Fidelman family history for five generations, back to the 1700s (something he had been curious about but had always reached dead ends).
He left this world the way he entered, surrounded by people who loved him. Though he is gone, he will not be forgotten by his son Miles and daughter-in-law Karla, along with his grandchildren Russell and Tracy, his step grandchildren James, Micah & Julia, his nephew Mark and nieces Janet and Anne, his cousin Ethel, his step-children Rhonda, Larry, and Bruce, his new-found Russian relatives, and his many friends in the Phoenix area - all of whom will say they were lucky to have such a man in their lives.
David Fidelman was a lucky man and the rest of us were lucky to have him in our lives.
Graveside services will be held at Beth Moses Cemetery in Babylon, NY on Wednesday April 25, 2018 at 11:30 AM.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Rose Monahan Hospice Home (https://vnacarenetwork. ejoinme.org/VNACare) or Temple Beth Shalom (http://www.templebethshalomaz.org) in Sun City so others can feel as lucky as he did.