Obituary of Harold Lewis Weisberg
Harold Lewis Weisberg was born in Troy, New York on July 4th 1932 and died on December 25, 2018 in Troy, NY. His parents were David and Elizabeth Weisberg (Nee Cohn.) Harold went to School 17 and Troy High School, then on to Union College and Albany College of Pharmacy, where he graduated in 1955. He settled in Syracuse, New York. While there he met, and married Ralpha Dosberg, on July 20th, 1958. Shortly thereafter, they formed Harold’s Pharmacy, located in Central Square, NY.
In October of 1961, Harold and Ralpha had their first child, their son Michael, followed in September of 1963 by their daughter, Deborah. They raised their children in the Syracuse, NY area, the family spending their summers in Fair Haven, NY.
He was a member of Philo-Mount Sinai Lodge #968, Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, in Fayetteville, NY and Central Square Lodge #622 in Central Square, NY.
Harold was an avid skier and sailor. His sailing started with an O’Day Kitten sailboard, which was soon followed by an Albacore sailboat. Sailing on Skaneateles lake, Harold began racing the boats. He moved into the Thistle class, and competed around the State, and the Great Lakes. Eventually settling at the Fair Haven Yacht Club, where, in addition to racing both Thistles and J/24s, he was Commodore of the club, leader of the Junior Sailing program, and (along with Ralpha) the recipient of the Wright award, the highest award given by the club.
Harold truly enjoyed skiing. Whether at the local areas, Vermont, the Western US, or Europe, he enjoyed any opportunity to ski. At one time he was a ski reporter for “Ski Reports by Roxy,” a syndicated ski report carried by radio stations throughout the northeast. Harold looked forward to his 70th birthday, when many of the ski areas would allow him to ski for free. He took advantage of that almost every day he could, driving out to the ski area, and getting in a few runs “before if got crowded.”
Harold was with his loving wife, Ralpha, at home in DeWitt, in Fair Haven, and finally at the Eddy Memorial facility in Troy. Finally coming to his last within a few blocks of the house where he was raised as a boy. He is survived by his wife, Ralpha, His children Michael (MaryAnn) Weisberg and Debbie (Mark) Zmich, and by his grandchildren David Weisberg, Molly Zmich, Katriel Weisberg, and Rachael Zmich.
A private service will be held at Congregation Beth El, in Troy NY, followed by the traditional observance of Shiva at the home of Michael Weisberg.
A memorial service will be held at Fairhaven Yacht Club on 4th of July Weekend in the summer of 2019.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the Harold and Ralpha Weisberg Junior Sailing Scholarship Fund, 14510 Westside Dr. Fair Haven, NY 13064. T
