Bill Text: NY J02545 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Mourning the death of Si Spiegel, dedicated father and grandfather, meritorious veteran, and distinguished member of his community

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-05-29 - ADOPTED [J02545 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-J02545-Introduced.html

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Senate Resolution No. 2545

BY: Senator STEWART-COUSINS

        MOURNING the death of Si Spiegel, dedicated father
        and    grandfather,    meritorious    veteran,   and
        distinguished member of his community

  WHEREAS, There are certain outstanding members of our community who,
through their selfless commitment and dedication, have served to  better
the  quality of life in our community and have had a measurable positive
impact  on  the  lives  of  its  residents;  Si  Spiegel  was  one  such
individual; and

  WHEREAS,  It  is  with  profound  sorrow  and  deep regret that this
Legislative  Body  records  the  passing  of  Si  Spiegel,  noting   the
significance of his purposeful life and accomplishments; and

  WHEREAS,  Si Spiegel died on Sunday, January 21, 2024, at the age of
99; and

  WHEREAS, Si Spiegel was born in Manhattan, New York on May 28, 1924,
to Massia (Perlman) and David Spiegel; and

  WHEREAS, The son of Jewish immigrants who came to the United  States
from  Eastern  Europe, Si Spiegel was raised in a religious neighborhood
in Brooklyn, New York; and

  WHEREAS, Si Spiegel graduated from the Straubenmuller  Textile  High
School  in  Manhattan,  New  York in May 1942 and enlisted in the United
States Army four months later; and

  WHEREAS,  After  graduating  from  aircraft  mechanics   school   at
Roosevelt   Field  on  Long  Island,  New  York,  Si  Spiegel  underwent
additional training at Mitchel Field to become an aviation cadet; and

  WHEREAS, Si Spiegel was deployed to Eye, England  as  a  B-17  pilot
within  the 849th Bomb Squadron of the 490th Bomb Group during World War
II; and

  WHEREAS, During his 33rd mission, an air raid on Berlin on  February
3,  1945,  Si  Spiegel's  aircraft was shot down, forcing him to land in
Soviet-occupied Poland; after being held by Russian troops for weeks, he
and his fellow officers used parts of their aircraft to fix another B-17
and flew to an American base in Foggia, Italy; and

  WHEREAS, After returning to New York on August 31, 1945, Si  Spiegel
joined folk singer Pete Seeger's Good Neighbor Chorus; and

  WHEREAS, While attending the Camp Unity summer camp in Wingdale, New
York  in  1949,  Si  Spiegel  met Motoko Ikeda, the daughter of Japanese
immigrants who was incarcerated in an internment camp in Wyoming  during
World War II; he and Motoko married in 1950; and

  WHEREAS, Si Spiegel faced discrimination due to his Jewish heritage,
which  prevented  him  from  becoming  a commercial pilot; he also found
difficulty keeping a machinist job  due  to  his  affiliation  with  the

United   Electrical   Workers  Union,  which  was  branded  a  communist
organization by the Congress  of  Industrial  Organizations  during  the
height  of  the Red Scare; he would later become president of Local 1709
of the Machinists Union, A.F.L.-C.I.O.; and

  WHEREAS,  Si  Spiegel began working for the American Brush Machinery
Corporation, based in Mount Vernon,  NY,  in  1954,  where  he  operated
machines  that  manufactured  industrial  brushes  from  wire  and other
materials; and

  WHEREAS,  After  American  Brush  failed  to  enter  the  artificial
Christmas   tree   business,  Si  Spiegel  developed  and  patented  new
production techniques that helped emulate real conifer trees, leading to
success for American Brush, which would later change  its  name  to  the
American Tree and Wreath Company; and

  WHEREAS, In 1981, Si Spiegel founded the Hudson Valley Tree Company;
by  the end of the decade, he employed 800 workers across his offices in
Newburgh, New York and Evansville, Indiana; and

  WHEREAS, Si Spiegel sold the Hudson Valley Tree Company in 1993;  in
his   retirement,   he  focused  on  philanthropy  related  to  culture,
education, and social justice; and

  WHEREAS, As both an employee and a business owner based out  of  the
Hudson  Valley,  Si  Spiegel spent several decades of his life living in
Pleasantville, New York, where his philanthropy work  had  a  tremendous
impact  on  his  community; he spent his final years living in the Upper
West Side of Manhattan, New York, after moving there in the late  2010s;
and

  WHEREAS,  Si  Spiegel is survived by his three children, Sura Kazuko
Ono, Ray Spiegel, and Tamio Spiegel; his brother, Lee Spiegel;  and  his
five  granddaughters;  he  is  predeceased by his wife, Ms. Spiegel, who
became an artist and passed away in 2000; and

  WHEREAS, Si Spiegel will be remembered by those who knew  him  as  a
loving  family  member, a respected veteran, and an active member of his
community focused on improving others' lives; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
mourn  the death of Si Spiegel and to express its deepest condolences to
his family; and be it further

  RESOLVED, That a copy of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted to the family of Si Spiegel.