Norman E. Gruenfelder

During these very trying times we at Donohue Cecere Funeral Home want to assure you that we have taken every precaution to provide a safe environment for you and your loved ones. Our location is cleaned and sanitized daily and we continue to follow best practices for social distancing and safety.

In accordance with Executive Order 202.17 (which requires any individual over age two, and able to medically tolerate a face-covering, be required to cover their nose and mouth with a mask or cloth face-covering when in a public place) we are required to follow this mandate or risk being shut down; therefore, all individuals entering our funeral home will be asked to wear a face mask or cloth face covering.

As of the latest update we are able to offer limited visitation periods in the funeral home for family and friends up to 35 people per session.  Please be mindful when visiting during these sessions to limit the amount of time spent at the funeral home.  This will give the opportunity for other family and friends to visit.

Dad, Norman Edward Gruenfelder, "Norm" was born November 24, 1925. His parents were Thomas and Emma, and he had one older sister, Ruth. Dad grew up in the town of New Hyde Park,, where under his parent's tutelage, he began is training as a "jack of all trades". From his father, he learned an electricians trade, he was involved with the fire department. From his mother, he learned to knit, crochet and tat lace.

In 1944, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he studied for Electricians Mate and Sound Motion Picture Technician. Discharged in 1946.

He married Doris in September of 1950. They moved to their home in Westbury two years later and that summer, they started their family. Together they raised five children: three boys and two girls. Our parents were together for almost 65 years, and now just about six years after her, Dad will join her in eternal life.

In those years, Dad worked at NBC, first as a Radio Engineer and then in the video library. He worked hard, and somewhere in the 80's he retired, starting his pursuit of "peace and quiet". Doris and Norm traveled, often with family and friends, cruising through the Panama Canal, paddlewheeling the Mississippi River, dancing in Hawaii, or the annual organ conference in Asilomar.

We will always remember him for his many "Rube Goldberg" projects: there was the solar heating for the pool - the black pipe under the basketball court and, of course, the geodome over the pool. The huge Ham radio antennae on the roof of the house that required a special building permit from the town. Then there was the engineered home alarm system with miles and miles of wires throughout the walls and ceilings. And how about the Volkswagon Rabbits during the energy crisis, with the oil tanks buried in the yard.

Yeah, looking back we might shake our heads, but, heck, that pool was a favorite or ours, and that radio setup has our neighbor talking with her son stationed in Alaska.

Today, we know that our parents are together again. We were fortunate beyond words to have been their children, their grand and great-grand children. Truly, while we may not be able to see them or speak with them, we know that they live forever in the shape and spirit of our hearts.



 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Norman E. Gruenfelder, please visit our floral store.