Arthur Yehuda Okun

Arthur Yehuda Okun, age 93, of New York City, passed away peacefully on December 12, 2022, in his home, with Marcia, his wife of 61 years, by his side. He is survived also by his daughter, Stacey Mindich, his son-in-law, Eric, and his three grandsons, Russell, Danny and Charlie.

Arthur was born in the Bronx and grew up in Far Rockaway, New York. He attended the University of Mississippi, where he studied music and played the saxophone. Later, he played in the Army band while serving during the Korean War era. His father, Nathaniel, held several patents for inventions, including the first floor waxing machine. His mother, Martha, was lauded by President John F. Kennedy for her volunteer work translating literature into Braille for the blind.

Arthur was an award-winning designer of textiles for mens' shirtings. He began his textile career at United Merchants and was Creative Director at Dan River and later, West Point Pepperell, from which he retired at the age of 72. He also taught textile design at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Known as Art to his many colleagues and Artie to his grandchildren, Arthur was beloved by all and treasured for his warmth, kindness, and humor. He had "buddies" wherever he went - from Far Rockaway beach to Ole Miss to the halls of the textile design houses where he worked. He loved a great Italian meal - pasta, chicken Milanese, a glass of Chianti, followed by a slice of seven-layer chocolate cake. After his retirement, he found a new clique of "cronies" at the 92nd Street Y gym, where they'd walk (slowly) on the treadmill and top off the exercise with a calorie-laden, post-workout lunch. Arthur was always impeccably dressed and very handsome - often compared to Joe Mannix from the '70s era hit CBS detective series in his younger days and Alan Alda, as he aged.

Arthur loved books, especially mysteries. He kept extensive journals, noting all that he'd read, as well as his own reviews. He posted these on Goodreads, too, largely ignored, except for a steadfast group of mystery-loving lesbians from a small Australian town. (The wonders of the internet never failed to amaze him.) He kept up with these wonderful ladies for years.

Creative and fun-spirited, Arthur made up stories for his daughter, and then his grandsons, that revolved around his mischievous childhood dog, Pudgy, and his best friend from boyhood, Butchy Butch. These stories, combined with his silly sense of humor, could make a toddler - mid-tantrum - laugh heartily, as well as everyone else in the room. Nothing made Arthur happier than those three grandsons, the great joys of his life.

Marcia, his wife of 61 years, was his rock. Arthur and Marcia met in Far Rockaway, where they grew up. Marcia's mother, Pearl, actually babysat for her future son-in-law, who was ten years Marcia's senior. Later, Pearl, and Arthur's mother, Martha, fixed the pair up. Though he stood Marcia up on their second date ("it was a sunny day and I wanted to play golf"), he later made up for it through a life of devotion sans golf. The best of friends, Arthur and Marcia could spend whole weekends reading books from the library, returning them on Monday, only to borrow a dozen more for the next week. Arthur extended this love of literature and of theater and music to his daughter, Stacey. He took her to theater weekly, from when she was seven throughout her life, and indulgently paid for her tickets to see "A Chorus Line." Twenty-eight times. He was immensely proud to see her grow up to become a writer and a Tony, Olivier and Grammy Award-winning producer of Broadway musicals.

Arthur would have turned 94 on January 7th. He will be remembered by his immediate family at a private burial. Donations in his memory may be sent to the Arthur Y. Okun fund for Musical Theater at Lincoln Center theater: https://lct.thankyou4caring.org/pages/arthur-okun-fund