Funeral Details

Mel F. Seidenberg

June 1, 1927 - July 3, 2024

SERVICE INFORMATION

Date and Time

Friday, July 5, 2024 at 11:00 AM

Service

Beth Hillel Bnai Emunah
3220 Big Tree Lane
Wilmette, Illinois 60091
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Clergy

Rabbi Alex Freedman
Rabbi Nate Crane
Rabbi Allan Kensky
Cantor Pavel Roytman

Interment

Westlawn Cemetery
7801 West Montrose Avenue
Norridge, Illinois 60706
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Shiva

Seidenberg Residence
300 Oakmont Drive
Deerfield, Illinois 60015
773.895.4910
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Friday following the interment until 5PM.
Sunday 1PM-5PM and 6PM-9PM
Monday 1PM-5PM and 6PM-9PM
Tuesday 6PM-9PM
Wednesday 6PM-9PM
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
Evening Minyan 7:30PM

Memorial Contributions

Annette W. and Mel F. Seidenberg Family Youth Fund
Beth Hillel Bnai Emunah
3220 Big Tree Lane
Wilmette, Illinois 60091
www.bhbe.org




OBITUARY

Mel F. Seidenberg, age 97, LCDR, CEC USN Ret.

Beloved husband of the late Annette nee Wein. Loving father of Steven (Samantha) and James (Michelle) Seidenberg and Sandra (Barry) Reiner. Cherished Papa of Laura (Rabbi Alex) Freedman, Lindsay, and Adam (Naomi Polinsky) Seidenberg, Hannah (Ilan) Cohn and David, Jacob and Annette Reiner. Proud great Papa of Avi, Elie and Oren Freedman and Penina, Rachel and Yonah Cohn. Fond brother of Dr. Lewis (the late Robin) Seidenberg. Former Exec VP of Hancock Engineering.

Melvin Frank Seidenberg was born in Boston, Mass in 1927, the older son of Nathan and Eva Rosenblum Seidenberg. He spent his early years in suburban Boston through graduation from Brookline High School in 1944. He then entered Purdue University in August, where he received his BSCE degree in Civil Engineering in February 1949. After that, he moved to Chicago, where he pursued his long career in Municipal Engineering. In late 1959 he was called back into active service. He remained in the Naval Reserve and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, Civil Engineering Corps, serving on active duty and the active reserve for approximately 25 years.

In early 1955, Mel joined the Edwin Hancock Engineering Co., from which he retired in early 2002 as Executive Vice President. Also, in 1955 he met and married the former Annette Wein, z”l. They joined Beth Hillel Congregation in 1963. Mel and Annette immediately became active in the Synagogue, and continued to be active members for many years. Mel was a proud president of the Men’s Club, and was an active and involved synagogue member in many other ways as well.

Mel has traveled all over the world, to all 7 continents, for personal pleasure as well as for
United Synagogue and Masorti Olami. He is also an amateur genealogist and the local joke is that when he travels he finds relatives all over the world.

Service Friday, 11AM at Beth Hillel Bnai Emunah, 3220 Big Tree Lane, Wilmette, IL 60091. Interment Westlawn. In lieu of flowers memorials to The Annette W. and Mel F. Seidenberg Family Youth Fund at Beth Hillel Bnai Emunah would be appreciated. To view the funeral livestream, please visit our website. Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals- Skokie Chapel 847.229.8822, www.cjfinfo.com


GUEST BOOK

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He was a gute neshama- a wonderful person who loved his family above all else and put his money where his mouth was in terms of Jewish education in Chicago, and particularly with the Conservative Yeshiva at the Jerusalem Fuchsberg Center and Masorti Olami - also served United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism so well for so many years . He will be deeply missed and we wish the family that their good memories with Mel will be helpful in the difficult days and weeks ahead. I will miss his weekly emails and miss him at Gidwitz as well- Sandy Starkman and Larry Pachter

Sandy Starkman
July 5, 2024
Hello all,

So sorry to read of Mel’s passing.
Although we didn’t see each other very often after he left Florida, Mel was truly cherished by my mother, brother, sister and me.
Mel’s dad Nate and my maternal grandmother Lena were brother and sister.

Until not that long ago, Mel and I conducted a fairly vibrant correspondence.
The topics were always the same: the family tree, the synagogue and what’s happening in Israel.
He knew a great deal about all of them . He was very much devoted to all three and his passing is a significant loss.

Mel’s passion for discovering Seidenberg / Portugali / Portguese relatives broadened my appreciation for who we are.
Mel’s discovery of our relationship to Shomrim founder and early Zionist hero Mendel Portugali certainly made me proud of my heritage.

I will always be grateful for Mel’s friendship and support. The world would be a much better place if we all had relatives as good natured,
loving and genuine as Mel has been for all of his long life.

Our deepest condolences to all our Chicago relatives,

Gerry Fisher and Anna-Rae Fishman.

Gerald Fisher
July 9, 2024
Mel was my mother’s first cousin, and they lived right down the street from each other in Brookline, Massachusetts. As I was quite young when Mel moved to Chicago, I’ve always thought of him as being from Chicago.
Despite living so far away, Mel always stayed connected with our side of the family. He attended special occasions, such as my wedding in New York, in 1977, and a large family reunion in 1989, at Anthony’s Pier 4 Restaurant, in Boston on the occasion of his mother’s 85th birthday. In more recent years, Mel often visited my parents in Florida, and he visited me in New York City, where we enjoyed a pastrami sandwich at the Second Avenue Deli. Mel never allowed much time to elapse between our visits.
Mel was a phenomenal source of information about our common ancestors, which he shared with me, providing many interesting and frequently amusing anecdotes.
Mel was a very admirable person, strong and brave, who was dedicated to family, faith and other high-minded principles. For me, he always will be a special memory and someone to whom I am proud to have been related.

Jerry Swartz
July 23, 2024