Obituary of Benjamin Paul Millstein

Benjamin P. Millstein of Mineola, NY, Waldwick, NJ, and River Vale, NJ, passed away on December 12, 2019, surrounded by his loving family. He radiated laughter and lived his 97 years with the glass half full.

Ben was born on May 4, 1922 to Nathan and Ida Millstein of Bronx, NY. He graduated from St. John’s University and served as a bombardier in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Upon returning from service, he joined Williams Advertising Agency in Manhattan, where he met Dorothy Scherer of Middle Village, Queens, with whom he would spend his life. They married in 1958 and had two children, whom they raised in Mineola, NY. Their children grown, Ben and Dorothy moved to Waldwick, NJ, in 1997 to be near family. In 2018, Ben moved to Jewish Home Assisted Living in River Vale, NJ, where he lived down the hall from his younger brother and sister-in-law, to their mutual delight.

After many years as an accounting executive at Williams, Ben took over Oval Children’s Center, the children’s clothing store his parents had established in The Bronx. Ben took pride and pleasure in the business, keeping his children and nieces and nephew meticulously dressed until his retirement—though he would have been overjoyed to dress his grandchildren, too. He was the Brotherhood treasurer at Temple Israel of Jamaica, Queens, where his brother was the rabbi, and became the accountant at Brotherhood Synagogue in Manhattan after retiring from the family store. He later served 17 years as treasurer for Tamaron, his condo association in Waldwick, and was an active member and leader in his WWII Bombardiers Association for many years.

Ben had a sharp sense of humor and wit. He loved to kid and never took himself too seriously, chiding his grandchildren only in jest when they would pull his suspenders. Patient and thorough, he cleaned house in his poker league at Tamaron, winning thousands of dollars over the years—in increments of nickels and quarters.

Ben is survived by his wife Dorothy, daughter Janet and her husband Dao Chung, son Jeff and his wife Kathy, five grandchildren (Jaclyn and husband James, Rachel, Kara, Mark, and Nathaniel), beloved brother Rabbi Ronald Millstein and his wife Joyce, and loving nieces and nephew and their children. Ben instilled in them his love of family, sense of humor, and zeal for life. A proud patriarch, he often wore gear from each of his grandchildren’s colleges at once. Ben’s determination carried him far, including down the aisle at his eldest granddaughter’s wedding in October.

"Donations can be made in Ben Millstein's memory to www.jewishhomefamily.org "

Services will be held on Sunday, December 15 at noon at Eden Memorial Chapel, 327 Main Street, Fort Lee, NJ.