Ivar Segalowitz, a former Great Neck Park District chairman, veteran of the U.S. Army and Holocaust survivor, died on Tuesday after a 20-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 82.
“It was really an honor to share the board with Ivar Segalowitz,” park district Commissioner Ruth Tamarin said. “His death is a great loss to our entire community.”
Segalowitz served on the board of commissioners from 2003-2011 before resigning due to health issues, his daughter Genie Lieberman said.
“He wanted to keep the parks maintained as well as possible,” she said. “He would have loved to run for more terms if he hadn’t gotten sick.”
Ivar Segalowitz served as chairman of the park district in 2005, 2008 and 2011.
Segalowitz, who worked in the manufacturing business, spent most of his time on the board addressing “energy problems,” Tamarin said.
“He was making sure we were efficient and we were able to do things that would save park district residents money,” she said.
Tamarin said Segalowitz attacked other issues in a “methodical and enthusiastic way.”
“He was involved in every issue,” Tamarin said.
Segalowitz was born in 1932 to a Jewish family in Lithuania.
He and his family were sent to three different concentration camps by Nazi soldiers throughout World War II, his daughter said.
Segalowitz, the only member of his immediate family to survive the Holocaust, was sent to an orphanage in France at the end of the war before moving to America with his aunt two years later.
He lived with his aunt in Manhattan and Queens while attending night classes at Stuyvesant High School, Lieberman said.
After high school, he was drafted into the U.S. Army to serve in the Intelligence Corps. during the Korean War.
His wife Bernice Segalowitz said he “did not fight” being drafted.
“He wanted to give back,” she said.
Ivar did not see active duty during the Korean War, Bernice Segalowitz said,
After receiving an honorable discharge, Segalowitz attended night classes at City College and received a bachelor’s degree in physics.
After retiring from the manufacturing business, he ran for park district commissioner in 2003 and won.
Prior to serving on the board of commissioner, Segalowitz worked with the Allenwood Civic Association and the Steppingstone Sailing Club.
In his Sept. 20, 2011 letter notifying residents of his retirement from the board, Segalowitz said “The last nine years were challenging and full of accomplishments for me. I want to thank the Great Neck Park District residents, my fellow commissioners, as well as the whole staff in supporting my efforts rebuilding our great park district. I am not moving and will be accessible to help when needed. Thanks for a great nine years.”
Bernice Segalowitz said he spent the last four years of his life working around their house in the Village of Great Neck.
“He always took charge of things and was looking for things to fix,” she said. “He was very self-sufficient and practical.”
Reach reporter Anthony O’Reilly by e-mail at aoreilly@theislandnow.com, by phone at 516.307.1045 x203 and on Twitter @ ORiled_Up. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
