STEPHEN HUROWITZ

1941 - 2021

HUROWITZ Stephen A. Hurowitz Stephen A. Hurowitz, of Reston, VA, died at his home in the early morning of November 27, 2021. After celebrating his 80th birthday with family and friends in Narragansett, RI, Steve's health suddenly worsened and he was diagnosed with end-stage congestive heart failure by The Rhode Island Hospital. The doctors and nurses didn't believe Steve would survive the trip home, but his wife, Holly (who is just as stubborn as Steve was), saw to it that Steve made it home - in comfort with a stop at his favorite restaurant on the trip back, the Washington Ale House in Wilmington, DE. Steve was born in New York City, NY on October 20, 1941 - just 48 days before Pearl Harbor. His first three years, despite the war, were peaceful as an only child. Then his brother Donnie was born. Steve, Donnie and their mother, Helen lived with their maternal grandparents on Anthony Avenue in the Bronx. Their father, Jack Hurowitz, was, at this time, a medical doctor with the Army Medical Corps in Alabama. Dr. Hurowitz was initially assigned to tend to wayward GIs and German POWs with various nasty diseases. The family moved to the Inwood section of Manhattan, a peaceful enclave where a kid could see friends without first making a play date. Some of Steve's wonderful cousins lived up the street, and the kids all walked to PS 98 together - sometimes holding hands as little kids will do. From 1952 to 1957, Steve's family fled the city and the summer Polio epidemics to spend 2 months in Patchogue, Long Island. The family's little rental was part of a family compound, right on the beach of the Great South Bay. Steve, his brother and their cousins fished for snappers and blue claw crabs. Their maternal aunt, Raya and her husband, Senya, who had survived World War I in Russia with tales to tell, lived across the street. Steve's brother grants that Steve was indisputably favorite of all the nieces and nephews. Every Saturday, Senya would take the kids in his convertible Studebaker to town to buy comics. Steve always rode shotgun. Steve's family's little house in Patchogue was next door to the original Captain Video (Google him) whose Cocker Spaniel would find baseballs that Steve knocked into the tall grass and poison ivy. Some of Steve's fondest memories were the warm, wonderful summers spent with his extended family in Patchogue. Steve attended the Bronx High School of Science. That credential on his resume resulted in a job with Sperry Univac many years later where the hiring manager told Steve "I always wanted a Bronx Science graduate to work for me." Steve was a graduate of Bard College, another place in Steve's heart. He majored in chemistry and was the editor of the Observer, the Bard College newspaper. He fondly quoted Walter Winchell's description of Bard as "the little red whorehouse on the Hudson" to his friends in describing his time there. Steve worked for a family-owned, photo finishing business, Modernage Photographics, after graduation from Bard. Steve would describe how he was sent to various celebrity's New York city houses to photograph their artwork collections. He also told stories of his uncle, Ralph Baum, - the founder of Modernage - and likely was relieved to have been drafted into the U.S. Army approximately a year later. In the Army, Steve was assigned to the Army's Management Center (ALMC) in Ft. Lee, Virginia where he, and the wonderful friends he made there, were assigned to draft course materials in logistics to train the troops on their way to Vietnam. When they weren't drafting course materials, they were assigned to perform various landscaping duties where a member of his team took the liberty to shape the bushes into perfectly shaped breasts and was later directed to cut off the nipples. After his honorable discharge from the Army, Steve pursued an MBA with the American University in Washington, DC where he was introduced to his first wife, Badonna (Buffy) Orenstein, by her former roommate, Nathalie Dupree. Steve then worked for Abraham & Stauss in New York in furniture management. He soon learned which transport companies had the fewest number of refusals from A&S's furniture customers and was invited to attend, and attended, Columbus Day dinners - one of the few times he acquiesced to wear a tuxedo. In the mean-time and in between time, Steve saved his brother's life at a Bard College reunion when his brother suffered an allergic reaction to lobster. Steve drove his brother at breakneck speed on the twisty River Road to the local hospital. His brother, although unconscious during this event, is a living testimony today to Steve's heroism. This event did not dissuade Steve from attending many future Bard reunions, but it caused both Steve and his brother to rethink their taste for lobster - or any shellfish. After A&S, Steve worked for the Hecht Company, Syms Corporation and Sperry Univac (discussed above) which ultimately became the Unisys Corporation where he met his second wife, and bashert, Holly Roth. Steve and Holly had many adventures together and celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary in August 2021. Steve's funeral was in Long Island on December 1 and his burial, with an honor guard including a bugler playing taps, was at the Mt. Ararat cemetery in his family's plot. Steve is survived by his wife, Holly; his brother, Donnie; his sister, Laurie; his sons Peter and Aaron (wife Rebecca); his granddaughter, Danielle. Steve will be deeply missed by those who he loved and loved him and those he made laugh. He had such a talent for making us laugh. There will be a celebration of life/memorial service for Steve at the Tower Club in McLean, VA in early February 2022. Gifts in honor of Steve's memory may be made to Bard College on line (annandaleonline.org/Hurowitz) or by mail to Office of Development and Alumni/ae Affairs, Bard College, Attn: Gift Recorder, PO Box 5000, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504-5000. Gifts may also be made to the Trinity Repertory Company on line (https://www.trinityrep.com/support/give/) or by mail to Trinity Repertory Company, Attn: Development, 201 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903.There will be a celebration of life/memorial service for Steve at the Tower Club in McLean, VA in early February 2022. Gifts in honor of Steve's memory may be made to Bard College on line (annandaleonline.org/Hurowitz) or by mail to Office of Development and Alumni/ae Affairs, Bard College, Attn: Gift Recorder, PO Box 5000, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504-5000. Gifts may also be made to the Trinity Repertory Company on line (https://www.trinityrep.com/support/give/) or by mail to Trinity Repertory Company, Attn: Development, 201 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903.