Leonard Arnowitz's Obituary
Leonard Arnowitz, who spent more than 20 years working for NASA and helped launch America’s Space Program, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 93. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1923, Arnowitz was selected by the United States Army to take part in specialized training programs that sent him to the University of New Hampshire and University of Connecticut for courses in electrical engineering. During that time, he spent time at the Bell Telephone Laboratories to work on development of microwave communication technologies for the Army. Following the World War II, Arnowitz completed his electrical engineering studies, earning a Bachelor’s of Science from the Newark College of Engineering. He later went on to earn a Master’s of Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. After college, his skillset took him to the Glenn L. Martin Company in Baltimore, Maryland. “I remember… my parents were very concerned when I told them I wanted to become an engineer because they thought there was just no way a Jewish person could work in that field,” Arnowitz said in a 1990 interview about his life. He was recruited in 1957 to work on Project Vanguard, which was America’s first foray into space exploration. That project transitioned into a role at NASA when the Agency was first conceived. He remained there for more than 20 years. His last position at NASA was Division Chief of the Special Payloads Division where he managed the Sounding Rocket Division for Goddard Space Flight Center. Arnowitz said taking part in the frantic Space Race of the late ‘50s, which included the decision to move his young family to Cape Canaveral, Fla., was irresistible. “I was asked [if I wanted] to come down and be chief engineer at the Vanguard Program… and I felt strongly that I did,” he recalled. “Mostly, it was the opportunity of doing something for the first time [that] really attracted me.” His only hesitation was the lack of Jewish community there at the time, so he took it upon himself to help build one. Arnowitz helped construct the first synagogue in Cape Canaveral, Beth Shalom, by hand. He served as the Congregation’s president in 1959. From there, he moved his family to Baltimore, Maryland where he was once involved in building the Jewish community including the inaugural run of the American Jewish Festival. After The Challenger disaster in 1986, Arnowitz moved to Israel and worked for Israel Aircraft Industries. He eventually returned to the United States and opened his own company, launching disease-research experiments into space on NASA’s shuttles. Arnowitz retired to Aventura, Fla., with his wife in 2008. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Shirley, his sons Edward, Gary and Mitchell Arnowitz, his daughter Joan Nataf, his daughters-in-law Jo Ann and Janet Arnowitz and his son-in-law Yoram Nataf, his grandchildren Rena (Craig) Levy, Yonatan (Rachel), Daniella, Binyamin, Elisheva and Elan Arnowitz, Ilana (David) Drescher, Leora (Eyal) Soffer, Karen and Sharon Nataf, his great grandchildren Idan, Ari & Leila Levy, Gabriella Drescher and Daniel Arnowitz. Chapel service 12 pm Friday, Dec. 2, 2016 at Levitt Weinstein/Beth David Chapel, 3201 N. 72 Ave., Hollywood, FL 33024 (305) 932-2700.
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