Philip Smukler

York.

Born April 20, 1942, in Queens, New York.

Resident of New York, New York, formerly of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York,

following a brief battle with brain cancer. He is survived by his wife of 57 years,

Barbara (Quinn) Smukler, his brother David Smukler and his wife Ann Smukler of

Port Jefferson, NY, his daughters Abigail Smukler of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and

Rebecca (Smukler) Wasdyke and her husband Matthew Wasdyke of

Framingham, Massachusetts, and his four grandchildren, Charlotte and Mara

Rotenberg and Madeleine and Nathaniel Wasdyke. He is predeceased by his

brother Leonard Smukler and his parents Charles and Emily Smukler.

Phil grew up in Cambria Heights, Queens, and attended Andrew Jackson High

School. He graduated from Queens College in 1964 and later earned a PhD in

Economics from the New School University in 1997. Phil was a faculty member

and later Dean and Academic Vice President at the SUNY Maritime Campus for

over 30 years, and taught periodically at the Webb Institute for Naval

Architecture. As an educator, he directly and indirectly impacted the lives of

thousands of students.

Phil’s greatest love was his family. He frequently provided guidance to his

brothers and cousins. Although they attended Andrew Jackson High School at

the same time, Phil and Barbara were introduced by a mutual friend at Queens

College. They married on December 17, 1964, at the Hillel House on the

University of California’s Berkeley Campus, where Barbara was pursuing a

graduate degree. They raised their daughters in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. In

summers, he and Barbara took their daughters camping in the Catskill

Mountains, where he taught them how to chop wood and light a campfire with

one match. The oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe Phil developed for his

family is second to none.

Upon retirement and in pursuit of rugged oceanside living, Phil and Barbara built

a home in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. They later briefly settled in Ithaca, New

York, to be equidistant from their daughters. Throughout retirement, they took

many cruises and explored European and Russian cities. In recent years, they

resettled in Manhattan, where they had lived as a young married couple.

Forever in our hearts, Phil will be remembered for his warmth, intellect, amazing

hugs, bad (and occasionally good) puns, and ability to soothe his cherished

grandchildren when they were infants.