HAROLD WATTEL

1921 - 2017

WATTEL--Harold Louis,

died January 29, 2017, at the Zicklin Hospice in Riverdale, NY. He was 95. He was a professor of economics and dean of the business school at Hofstra University, who loved art, poetry, books, travel and people. He was born in Brooklyn September 30, 1921, to David and Caroline Abrams Wattel. He and his late sister, Babette, grew up in Queens, NY. He graduated from Queens College in 1942, worked briefly in Washington DC, then enlisted in the Navy, serving on the USS Massachusetts in the South Pacific. He married Sara Gordon September 1, 1946 after meeting in Washington after the war. He earned a masters degree in economics from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research and began teaching at Hofstra in 1947. He chaired Hofstra's economics department and its Division of Business, which became the School of Business under his leadership. He worked in the NYS Consumer Affairs Department under Gov. Averell Harriman, was a business consultant and served on many nonprofit boards, including the NYS Coop Extension Service, the NYS Lung Association, the Parodneck Foundation and IPRO, where he represented consumer interests in health care. In 1964, he was a member of the state's Moreland Commission that recommended decontrolling liquor prices. In 1988-89, he taught at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in China. After his wife's death in 1995, he met Phyllis Tartell and they enjoyed many years together. He is survived by his daughters, Karen Arenson (Gregory) and Jill Stockinger (Max); granddaughter, Morgan Arenson (Cliff Korn); grandson Kaolin Fire (Amy); great-grandsons Fenris Asher Fire and Phoenix Zephyr Fire; and Phyllis Tartell. Donations may be made to Hofstra, Queens College, or the USS Massachusetts Memorial, Fall River, MA.