Julian Feldman Dies At 96

Julian Feldman

Julian Feldman of East Hampton died at Stony Brook University Medical Center on Friday, March 16. He was 96.

Born in Brooklyn to Fanny Rossum and Bernard Feldman on May 24, 1915, Mr. Feldman attended New York City public schools and City College of New York, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated in 1935 with a bachelor’s degree in science. While filling ampules for a pharmacist by day, he attended graduate school at night, first at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University in Brooklyn and then switching to Brooklyn College when that school opened. He completed his master’s degree in chemistry in 1940.

Having applied to the Civil Service, in 1941 he received and accepted an offer from the Department of Agriculture to work in their research labs in Maryland. He later lived in Washington, D.C. and authored a number of publications.

World War II had started so Mr. Feldman enrolled in science defense training in advanced explosives at Columbia University. Though designated 1-A and ready to serve in the military, because of his expertise he was employed by the National Defense Committee at their facility in Pennsylvania to create explosives for the war. He then received an offer from the Bureau of Mines to work on synthetic liquid fuels. He headed that laboratory for eight years, and received his PhD from the University of Pittsburgh in 1950.

On a vacation in 1943 in the Adirondacks, he met Viola Borden, who had grown up in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn. They were married in May 1944. In 1953, Mr. Feldman received a job offer from National Distillers Chemical Corporation in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he and his young family moved.

Mr. Feldman had a lifelong interest in photography. In his free time, he built a darkroom and processed black and white film and prints as well as color transparencies. He became active in photography clubs and in produced publicity and production photography for community theater groups, in which his wife Viola was an actress. He was most proud of his innovations in theatrical production photography and of receiving the Art Rouse Award for his contributions to community theater. He also designed sets, directed plays, and was active in the Ohio Community Theater Association.

In 1981, Mr. Feldman became senior research scientist at National Distillers, and in 1982 he retired from the company. A creative chemist, he had authored 40 patents. Mr. Feldman is listed in the Who’s Who of American Scientists, mentioned in science textbooks, and various other publications.

His old friend and mentor from Pittsburgh, Professor Dr. Milton Orchin, invited Mr. Feldman to be a Post Doctorate Fellow in Research at the University of Cincinnati. He enjoyed heading the lab there until 1998, and helped steer postdoctoral students to careers at industrial companies.

His wife Viola died in 1995, so when his house sold in 1998, he moved to East Hampton to live with his daughter. There he took up walking, and became a familiar figure exploring his Springs and Amagansett environs. Ever involved, he volunteered to be a census taker for the 2000 Census, and worked as a pollwatcher for every election in East Hampton up until a year ago, retiring from that post at 95. He loved being near the water and visiting his marine biologist friends Bob and Marie Valenti and their colleague Nadine Nielsen at the Amagansett Multi-Aquaculture Systems every Sunday. He also became quite a cook, creating dishes as a chemist–adjusting temperatures unconventionally, and offering admirers his “formula” for his famous gazpacho.

Fair and honest and possessing a great sense of humor and a remarkable intelligence, he was an inspiration to all who know him, family said. He said that he was “most proud of raising three great kids,” and they are most proud of having him for a father.

He is survived by his children, Diana Zadarla and her husband John of East Hampton, Alan Feldman of Virginia; Dr. David Feldman and wife Jaime of Ohio; siblings, Leona Stillman of Piermont; grandchildren, Aaron, Zachary, Tyler, and Roxanne; nephews and nieces, Thomas Stillman and his wife Kathy, Celine Stillman and her husband Pascal Akesson, Dr. Barbara Kruger and husband Dr. Fred Kruger, Richard Walter and his wife Cari, Howard Samelson and his wife Suzanne, Paula Katz and her husband Mel; great-niece, Isabel; and a cousin, Michael Rossum and his partner Adrian Barrow.

Memorial donations may be made to the Amagansett Fire Department, Box 470, Amagansett, NY 11930, or the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, P.O. Box 901, Wainscott, NY 11975.