Herbert Sanford Brownstein

Herbert Sanford Brownstein, 105, born in Syracuse, NY on July 6, 1920, flew west from Columbus, OH on December 8, 2025 after a long, loving, and productive life. He met his wife Sylvia in high school. They were married almost 70 years until her passing in 2012.

Herb and his late sister Evelyn Shure were raised by their single mother, Ida Rose Brownstein, after her husband Joseph died when Herb was only 5 years old. He was blessed with many mentors and friends over the years. These relationships, coupled with an extraordinarily inquisitive nature and incredible personal drive, led him to absorb a vast array of knowledge.

He started as an aircraft mechanic with the Army Air Corps and later became an aviation cadet during World War II. Returning to Rome, NY after the war, he ultimately transitioned to research. He later moved to NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, where he worked in aerospace medicine and was a member of the launch control crew for Apollo 11, the first manned mission to the moon.

He also cast a long shadow as a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. His sons – now in their 70s – remember working on projects with their dad, building radios, setting up train sets, and learning how to do wiring and repair appliances, as well as going on hikes and cooking food over wood fires.

They also learned that they would be going to college. Herb and Sylvia saved money for their education, ultimately contributing to the education of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well. As his descendants started their careers, he was always interested in what they were doing. He reminded them that "You don't get the job you want; you build the job you want."

In retirement, Herb volunteered for the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, where he wrote Odyssey of a B-17: The Swoose, a book about a World War II aircraft that is being restored. He was an active tennis player while living in Boynton Beach, and he ran the weekly current events session at his senior living facility in Columbus until he was well into his nineties.

Herbert is survived by sons Barry and Scott, daughters-in-law Lindalee Brownstein and Georgia McCabe, grandchildren Stephanie (Mike) Gross, Elisabeth (Seymen) Ertas, Christine (Jake) Arndt, Gary (Megan Southern) Brownstein, Katie (Tom) Knostman, and Daniel (Pamela) Brownstein, plus 13 great-grandchildren.

Graveside services and burial were conducted at 11 a.m. on Friday, December 12, 2025 in the Adath Yeshurun Cemetery in Syracuse, New York. There were no calling hours.