In Memoriam: Arnold Strassberg
October 19, 1913 - April 1, 2000
Reflections on Our Father and Grandfather
We were living in Cincinnati then. It was the second grade, and I was just becoming aware of the world around me. Grandpa took me to my first baseball game. It was an awesome sight: the Big Red Machine in all its glory. I saw just a game, at first, but he showed me details, nuances, explained how the statistics worked. I fell in love with the game and its details that day.
That is the thing I remember most about Grandpa: He made me fall in love with the details, and always encouraged me to seek them out. Even when he brought ice cream, it was an opportunity to discuss the technology (from the dry ice in the cooler to the refrigerated warehouses and delivery trucks) used to transport it.
Grandpa expected a great deal of me, and of all his family, and showed us how to achieve it. He reminded us always that the most important thing is not what we know, but knowing what we don't know and doing everything we can to learn more. His love of learning was infectious. He took an active interest in all of our studies, always encouraging us to do more, go farther. We are limited only by our dreams, he reminded us, and he told us all to dream big.
~David Shapiro
What I remember the most about Grandpa, above all else, is his positive energy his ability to always emphasize the beautiful aspects of life. His zest for life was infectious. Age for him was not something to hide; rather, it served as a benchmark of all of his accomplishments, as well as those of his children and grandchildren. He "lived" for us to achieve any goals, no matter how small. His continual optimism and unconditional love of all things, people and life at large will be the memories I shall cherish throughout my own life.
~Rachel Jo Shapiro
I could never think of anything for him to do for me. Every conversation that I ever had with Grandpa ended the same way, with him asking me if there was anything he could do for me, anything I wanted, anything at all. I always wished that there was. I could not help but feel that I was letting him down every time I said no, I was fine, there was nothing I needed. Giving gave him such pleasure, and I was denying him that pleasure. But he gave me so much. He gave unwavering love. He was proud of everything I did, proud of the accomplishments of everyone he knew. He was a model of the benefits of hard work, the American dream made flesh. (And so much flesh). He gave so much, so much that will remain.
~Joshua Shapiro
The only person I ever heard him say a bad thing about was Richard Nixon.
~Daniel W. Shapiro
A year after our mother died, Dad took Marty and me to Champaign, Illinois, where he studied for a master's degree. While a difficult time in all of our lives, we had more time to be together and we took advantage of the university community. He delighted in taking us to football games, driving me each week for piano lessons, arranging for me to participate in French lessons; he was proud of Marty's achievements at the University Lab School.
Dad always asked how he could help us, right up to the end. I feel privileged to have had these last weeks with him. We spent those days quietly talking about the past, but mostly talking about what his grandchildren had accomplished and what they would do in the future. For that was what was important to him-the future and his grandchildren. We will always draw upon his optimism.
~Sandra Shapiro
Arnold Strassberg, 86, of South Orange, who pursued a career in the ice cream industry after retiring as a math teacher, died Saturday, April 1, 2000 in the Medical Center at Princeton.
Mr. Strassberg was a business executive in the wholesale ice cream distribution industry for many years. He founded the Arnold Ice Cream Company in Newark, then worked for the Martin Ice Cream Company in Bloomfield, and also was a consultant to the Haagen Dazs Ice Cream Company in Teaneck before retiring in 1991. He coined the phrase "Cheaper Buy the Dozen," creating a new method for selling multi-pack ice cream novelties.
Before that, he taught mathematics at Central High School, Newark, for 25 years, retiring in the mid-1960s as chairman of the mathematics department.
He received a bachelor's degree from New York University in 1936 and, in 1959, a master's degree from the University of Illinois.
During World War II, Mr. Strassberg taught mathematics for the Army at Scott Air Base in Belleville, Illinois.
He was active in the United Jewish Appeal and was a member of Pi Mu Epsilon, an honorary mathematics society.
Born in Newark, he lived in South Orange for many years.
Husband of the late Josephine Smith Strassberg, he is survived by his wife of 40 years, Sylvia; a son, Martin, of Livingston; a daughter, Sandra Shapiro, of Princeton Junction; a stepdaughter, Jill Crawford, of Malibu, California; and grandchildren: Jodi Strassberg; David, Rachel, and Joshua Shapiro; Blake, Brandon, Marissa, and Reid Crawford.
