In Memory of
Michael Simon Zarin
January 9, 2022
Obituary
Michael Simon
Zarin, age 89, died on January 9, 2022 on Long
Island.
He is survived by his
beloved wife, Renee (Kroll), whom he married in 1956,
his three children, Cynthia, Dina (Ben), and Daniel, his
ten adored grandchildren, whom he considered his
immortality: Rose (Effy), Anna (Phillip), Jack, Beasie,
Hannah, Ariel, Sammy, Raquel (Will), Carlos, and Kevin,
and his three great-grandchildren: Abigail, Henry, and
Raphael. His sister, Eve Zarin, also survives him.
He was educated at
Brooklyn Community School, PS 208, and Midwood High
School (where he was Mayor of the City of Midwood
student government). He was a member of the class of
1953 at Dartmouth College, and graduated from Columbia
Law School and the Harvard Business Advanced Management
Program. Mike devoted his career to the responsible
development of public and private project financing. In
1956, Mike began his 28-year career at the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey, where he was the
Chief of the Finance Division, Law Department; a primary
project was the development and financing of the World
Trade Center. In the private sector his positions
included Vice President and Manager of the New York
public finance office of Bank of America, and, until his
death, Chairman and CEO of Wellfleet Investments, LLC.
Mike brought gusto, commitment, and an abiding sense of
fairness and decency to all his endeavors. He served as
an advisor to the Debt and Fiscal Policy Committee of
the Government Finance Officers Association, and he
initiated the Associations Guidelines for Municipal
Securities.
He was also Chairman
of the Law Committee of the International Bridge, Tunnel
& Turnpike Association, and participated in the
President's Private Sector Study on Cost Control; his
articles on public and municipal finance appeared
widely. He was a director of Boscov's Department Store
chain and several other entrepreneurial firms. An
engaged member of his community, as a Great Neck School
Board Trustee he acted to re-entrust curriculum to
outstanding professionals after that educational
principle was threatened.
At Temple Beth-El in
Great Neck he was an honorary trustee and chair of the
Investment Committee; Mike was also on the board of the
Great Neck Chamber of Commerce, and was active in many
public service initiatives, including housing for
seniors. On Cape Cod, where he was a board member of the
Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, he spent many happy
days sailing in Wellfleet Harbor. His memory will be a
blessing to all who knew and loved him. The funeral will
be held at 11am at Temple Beth-El, Great Neck.
Published by New York Times on
Jan. 12, 2022
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