Albert Louis Promislow

1928 - 2023

Albert Louis Promislow
April 15, 1928 - April 22, 2023
Charlotte, North Carolina - Albert (Ab) Promislow passed away peacefully on April 22, 2023 in Charlotte, NC, at age 95.
He was predeceased by his parents, Joseph and Leah (Liza) Promislow, his sisters Rebecca (Rica) Ziskrout and Ruth Rachlis, his brother Henry (Hank), his first wife, Carol (Schuetz) Promislow, his second wife, Diane Larson, and his granddaughter Natalie Schanzer.
He is survived by his seven children Dena Schanzer (Paul), Mark, Wayne (Nancy), Derrick (MaiLy), Keith (Ronay), Joanne (Stephen Craig), and Catherine Marcey (Joel), grandchildren Monica, Laura, Ariel, Jordan, Curtis, Alysia, Sylvia, Erika, Levi, Cobi, Caleb, Landon, Jamie and Devan, and great-grandchildren Kaitlyn, Keira, Kyson, Kyla, and Dahlia.
Although his officially recorded date of birth is April 15, 1928, Ab was in fact born April 16, as he was fond of telling people ("Today's not really my birthday, you know"). With roads too muddy to make the trip to the hospital in Regina, Ab was born at home in Quinton, Saskatchewan, Canada, shortly after the clock, unnoticed by the attending doctor, struck midnight.
Ab was the youngest of four children born to Jewish immigrant parents who arrived in Canada in 1920 from Pavolitch (then Russia, now Ukraine). Ab's childhood was spent in Quinton, where his father owned, and the children all helped out in, a general store, and Winnipeg, where Ab and his siblings attended school. Ab won the Manitoba Scholarship to attend Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, ("two nights and a day away on the train") where he earned his BS and Master's degrees in Chemistry. He went on to earn his PhD in Chemistry at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and also there met and married, Carol (Schuetz) in 1952.
After Urbana, Ab and Carol moved to McMasterville, Quebec, where Ab began working in central research for Canadian Industries Limited (C-I-L), a subsidiary of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). After a short time, Ab was reassigned to a plant in Kingston, Ontario, where he worked on introducing polyester into tires. The family lived in Kingston until 1971, when ICI merged with Celanese, and the family then relocated to Charlotte, NC, where Ab continued his research on tire fibers in the Charlotte Celanese (and later Hoechst Celanese) technical center. At Celanese, Ab authored a number of patents, received multiple awards for his contributions to improving tire life, and achieved great renown for both his research acumen and his shockingly cluttered office that was eventually declared a fire hazard.
Ab and Carol had seven children together and enjoyed a busy family life until Carol passed away in 1988. Several years later, Ab met Diane, and they married in 2004. They enjoyed many happy years together traveling, visiting family spread across the US & Canada, cheering on the Carolina Panthers and their grandchildren's teams, and engaging with friends from the Unitarian Universalist Charlotte Community and the Cypress of Charlotte Retirement Community.
Despite, or maybe because of, his intelligence and perspicacity, Ab was a very humble person. He dressed simply and spoke plainly (albeit wisely) and never with any pretension. He frequently recounted with obvious delight and great fondness his negative grades on spelling tests in grade school and his childhood nickname "Ab the Crab", while leaving it to others to mention the things at which he had excelled. He was open-minded and accepting of others, outspoken, and quick to defend anyone he felt judged harshly. He loved to hear about the activities of his children and grandchildren - to listen, support, and encourage, without judgement.
Ab enjoyed the simple pleasures in life: his big bowl of oatmeal in the morning, cooked just so, a "mind-melting" sudoku, companionship, news of family, and the occasional philosophical discussion. He was blessed to still be enjoying these comforts in his 95th year of life.
The family wishes to thank the staff at the Stewart Center of the Cypress of Charlotte for their compassionate, attentive, and loving care during Ab's last few years, as well as Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region for their kind support.
A celebration of Ab's life will be held at a later date.