Harold Broitman died on June 1, 2020 at his home in Princeton NJ surrounded by family and friends. He is survived by his son Steven L. Broitman a retired professor of molecular biology (wife: Barbara Wood a polymer scientist and avid musician) and daughter Jessica Broitman, a psychoanalyst (husband: Gibor Basri, an astrophysicist and former Vice Chancellor of UCB) and three grandsons: Benjamin Wood Broitman, Adam Wood Broitman and Jacob Avram Basri.
Harold was born in Brooklyn NY in 1927 to Max and Jenny Broitman. His brother Kalman was 2 years older and preceded him in death by 2 years. He was a feisty kid in school, showing an early interest in how things are built and how they work. He served in the military in 1946 and learned to be a sharpshooter. He met his wife Adeline while a waiter in the Catskills and “stole“ her from his best friend Herbie. They were married in 1949; the marriage lasted for 67 years until her death in 2016.
Harold attended high school at Brooklyn Tech and college at Brooklyn Polytech, earning a BSc in mechanical engineering and immediately started working in the field. He was employed by a number of large companies, starting with The Burroughs Corp. From there he moved to Fairchild Camera, where he worked on reconnaissance data analysis and design of reconnaissance cameras, among other technical military and defense projects. He developed a talent for reading requests for proposals from the government and turning them into successful projects for his company. He was often put in the position of working on something new, and would do whatever it took to learn what was needed. He was given increasing responsibility for taking projects from beginning to end, and managed increasingly large teams of engineers. He was very fond of regaling family and friends with stories of his successful exploits and problematic supervisors. The last large corporation he worked for was RCA (Astro Division) in 1968, which precipitated the family move to Princeton, New Jersey in 1970 from Bayside Queens. He eventually decided to start his own company, and with Meyer Sapoff founded Thermometrics in 1970.
Harold loved the work of technical development, manufacturing processes and sales, and loved running a company. His prior experience in industry served him well and Thermometrics developed into an extremely successful company. It was a major supplier of thermistors (temperature sensing devices) to manufacturers and in medical applications. He enjoyed giving employees gifts, life advice, and help
when they needed it. The company provided a profit-sharing option to employees. It was one of the early companies to take advantage of off-shoring, and Harold paid many visits to plants in Puerto Rico, Mexico, and China. Thermometrics was sold to a large British conglomerate in 1995 and Harold continued to consult with them for three years before full retirement.
In 1989 Harold and Addie built their dream house in Princeton, participating in every detail. The home reflects his engineering creativity and sophistication, and had many advanced features. In the basement he put together an amazingly equipped “dream” shop, where he built and repaired things and indulged his talent for sculpting. He was an engaged citizen of Princeton and sat on various local boards, particularly in the Jewish community. He was passionately philanthropic – interested in making the world a better place. Projects he supported included Columbia University research on Alzheimer’s and dementia, many mental health programs, support for seniors at home, and creating a safe and strong Jewish community as well as national and international Jewish projects that serve the needy of all backgrounds. Harold was fond of saying “We are put on this Earth to help improve humanity. The prize is not winning, the prize is the satisfaction of accomplishment in moving the mountain a little.” He indeed did that and had that satisfaction, and enjoyed the accomplishments of his children as well.
Private funeral services and burial will be at Mount Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, NY.
The family will host a virtual shiva via Zoom:
June 3, beginning at 8 p.m. EDT
June 4, beginning at 8 p.m. EDT
Meeting ID: 728 932 5885 For Meeting Password contact drjess@comcast.net or sbroitman@wcupa.edu
Harold was a very special man and a very special friend.. I enjoyed working for him and with him. I enjoyed our many
lunches together after we both retired. He will be deeply missed.
I extend my deepest sympathy to his children and grandchildren. I know how much they meant to him.
Sincerely
Mike Fusella
Harold and his wife Addy were among the early residents of our Brooks Bend neighborhood. They both were special remarkable caring competent people. Harold lent his talents as Treasurer of the
neighborhood association for a number of years He offered wise advice on many subjects based on an interesting life of entrepreneurship .In the earlier decades he and Addy would recount travels at neighborhood dinners. He loved his family and was a remarkably caring loving husband to Addy.
We will miss him greatly, while conjuring up his special brand of humorous and pithy comments about the state of the world both large and as it related to our neighborhood. His and Addy’s caregivers were most attentive and it was comforting to believe he was comfortable in recent months. Christine Grant Michael Halpern
We are Harold’s neighbor across the street at 101 Brooks Bend.. We are very sorry to hear about Harold’s death. I often remember getting into discussions with Harold about engineering projects, which he was very fond of. One day I was passing by and saw him struggling with his gate. I stopped to find out what was the problem. He told me with a big smile that he needs some thing to do and have decided to fix the gate’s electric motor and install a section of the gate him self. I said Harold who is going to do the work. He said that he got some bids from vendors and they are all asking too much money and I can do it in less than third or a fourth of the amount these people are asking. A week later he had it all done and told me I told me that we engineers can do all of this if we try to. (I am an engineer also). As generous as he always was, he told me that if I have a project and I need help, he will be happy to help to do the project. I had many conversation and occasional dinners few years ago. He had a wonderful but dry sense of humor. Always kind and ready to help. He will be missed. My sincerest sympathies and condolences to the family. May God bless Harold with eternal peace in heaven.
Suresh Chugh
My sinceres condolences to his children, I always remember him with affection because he was so kind, I took care of Adie few weekends and I immediately looked his devotion to her. Rest in peace dear Harold, you really left a better place to live for many people.