Arnold Jacob Reid

February 25, 1926 - November 26, 2020 Arnold Jacob Reid (Friedman) passed away during the early hours of Thanksgiving morning at Northridge Hospital at the age of 94. He was the first of three sons born to Morris and Bertha Friedman, Sea Gate, Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. He and his brothers Phillip and Leonard celebrated their Bar Mitzvah in the synagogue in Sea Gate. Arnold graduated Lincoln High School in Brooklyn. When he became of age, towards the end of WWII, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps but was never trained as a pilot because the Air Cadet program was winding down. His passion for flying led him to pursue private flying and he achieved a Private Pilot's license, Commercial, Instrument, Multi-engine, Seaplane and Glider ratings. He also taught both of his brothers to fly. Eventually, all three brothers resided with their uncle Samuel Friedman in Manhattan, New York during which time they formed a flying club and purchased a Piper PA-eleven sea plane which was kept at the Brooklyn Sky Port seaplane base. One afternoon (1947) Arnold and his younger brother, Leonard, were invited to a party given by their loving cousins Barney and Ruth Siegel and children Martin and Phyllis. Their apartment was a short walk from the Dykeman Street seaplane base on the Hudson River. The flight from the Brooklyn sea plane base to the Dykeman Street base took about 15 minutes (ordinarily about one hour by car). When the brothers walked in on the party someone said, "Didn't you call about thirty minutes ago? What did you do, Fly?" Arnold smiled proudly and said, "As a matter of fact, we did." Arnold was a self-taught technical writer who worked on, among other projects, the desalinization plant on Guantanamo base, Cuba, and for the Sikorsky Helicopter Company. Arnold loved to play the piano and was classically trained throughout his teenage years and it was a great pleasure to listen to him play. In later life his brother Leonard introduced him to the music of Scott Joplin (the writer who wrote the music played in the movie "The Sting"). Due to space Arnold bought an electric keyboard setup on which he recorded cd's of his favorite music. These cd's are much revered by his brother Leonard. Arnold never married. His ashes will be spread on the Pacific Ocean which is also the resting place of his brother Phillip. Arnold will always be lovingly remembered by all that knew him.