Abraham (aka “Abe” aka ”Al”) Landzberg passed away of natural causes, peacefully in his sleep in his Yorktown Heights, NY home with his children by his side on July 1, 2020. He was born in Brooklyn, NY on September 10, 1929 to Sol and Anna Landzberg. In 1935 the family moved to an apartment on Grand Avenue in the Bronx over the liquor store which Sol and Anna had purchased. The family attended the 1939 World’s Fair where young Al was enthralled with the GM Pavilion’s “Future City” and was inspired to then create a set of bookends with the Trylon and Perisphere motif. Al subsequently became interested in engineering and was fascinated by the bridges, tunnels and skyscrapers of New York City. He was accepted to NYU and decided to major in mechanical engineering. Al was a member of the NYU Glee Club which performed at Carnegie Hall. His summer jobs during college included working in a sheet metal shop and as a mechanical designer in addition to working as a busboy and waiter at hotels in the Catskills. Al received his Master’s Degree from Princeton University in mechanical engineering where his thesis was on the use of “Differential equations to solve problems of relative motion”. He was hired by General Electric in Schenectady, NY upon graduation.
Al met Joan Magliacano in the Spring of 1951 at a “hootenanny” in lower Manhattan where Pete Seeger sang and led in folk singing and square dancing. Al was smitten with Joan who checked all of his boxes (later saying that she was ; “Attractive, dark haired, well spoken, smart, progressive, witty, and shorter than I was”). After what he described as a “tempestuous relationship” family contrivances brought them together to become engaged in the Spring of 1955. They married weeks later on June 26, 1955 at the Broadway Central Hotel in Manhattan.
After accepting a job in IBM’s Yorktown NY Research Lab in early 1959, Al and Joan moved to first to Peekskill, NY and subsequently to the home they built in Yorktown Heights, NY where he lived for the remainder of his life. He worked at IBM for 30 years and upon retirement he edited the “Microelectronics Manufacturing Diagnostics Handbook” which is relevant to this day (and still available on Amazon.com). In the 1970’s Al became interested in metal sculpture after seeing the work of German blacksmith Herman Schwagereit who subsequently taught Al about metal work and forging techniques. He became an accomplished metal sculptor, learning Arc, Stick and MIG welding and acquiring a huge variety of tools to outfit his back yard studio.
For many years, Al mentored high school students from Hendrick Hudson High School in Montrose, NY in the art of welding and metal work. He produced more than 100 sculptures, many of which can be viewed at http://www.sculpturelandzbergstudio.com/ (and which often reflect the inspiring beauty of the Hudson Valley). Al donated sculptures to both the town of Yorktown (on the Community Center field) and the City of Peekskill (at Charles Point outside of The Factoria). He was a lifelong learner who was constantly coming up with new projects including a nonprofit managed “Environmental education pier” proposal for Lower Manhattan ( http://riversalivenyc.org/ ) and inventions such as a raccoon proof garbage can holder and a telescoping hedge trimmer. In the days prior to his death, Al was talking about and very interested in promoting the possibilities of using hemp to create plastic materials.
Al Landzberg was pre-deceased by Joan who passed in 2015 and is survived by his brother Morris of Pembroke Pines, FL (who gave Al the nickname “Bummy” as a child). He is also survived by his 3 loving children (Judi Friedman of Pleasantville, NY, Carol (Chuck) Newman of Yorktown Heights, NY and Steven (Debbie) Landzberg of Waccabuc, NY) and 7 loving grandchildren (Spencer and Oliver Friedman, Lily (Jon Weinberg) and Sara Newman, and Justin, Charlotte and Lucy Landzberg).
Due to COVID the family will conduct a graveside service on Friday at the First Hebrew Congregation cemetery. No shiva observance will be held. In lieu of flowers, for those wishing to remember Al with a memorial donation, please consider making one in his memory to The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater (https://www.clearwater.org/ ) or to a charity of your choice.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Hellman Memorial Chapels, 15 State Street, Spring Valley, New York. 845.356.8600 Jewish Funeral Directors.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hellmanmemorial.com for the Landzberg family.
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