Robert Solomon, 83, a retired Aerospace engineer, of Rocky Point, NY, passed away peacefully on June 25, 2020, after a brief illness.

Robert leaves behind his four children; Marc Solomon and wife Patty Huff Solomon of Hadley, MA; Eric Solomon and wife Carol Haskel Solomon of Huntington, NY; Scott Ian Goldsmith and wife Deirdre Mary Goldsmith of Tolland, CT; and Hayley Solomon Quant and husband Jarod Elliot Quant of Bryn Mawr, PA. He also leaves behind a sister, Jane Louise Delman and husband Laurence Martin Delman of Coarsegold, CA. Robert was predeceased by his companion, Nancy Schmidt.

Robert was the son of the late Harry and Hilda (Gerstanzang) Solomon. Robert was born in Brooklyn and lived in Crown Heights until 1951 when his family moved to Bellmore, New York. He graduated from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute where he graduated 2nd in a class of 382 with a graduate degree in electrical engineering.

Mr. Solomon was employed at Grumman Aerospace in Bethpage, New York, where he received a Grumman Masters Fellowship, published numerous technical papers, and authored a patent on automatic temperature alarm systems. He continued to work through the 1980s and 90’s at other Long Island-based aerospace manufacturers, including Gould Electronics, Telephonics, and Lucas.

Mr. Solomon or “Bob” as he was best known was a big Broadway buff, partial to the musicals of Stephen Sondheim. He was a consummate joke teller, diehard Mets and Giants fan, and connoisseur of kosher salami sandwiches. He enjoyed legal dramas and appeared on-stage in several community theater productions of Little Me and The Music Man. In his later years he was a lifeline to his companion Ms. Schmidt, her son Ryan, and his nine grandchildren. He luxuriated in his sauna. He loved his life in his split level log cabin, nestled in the ivy-coated hills off Hallock Landing Road.

At his essence Bob offered unconditional love to his family and friends. He coached Little League and took his team out for ice cream, regardless of the outcome. He was fiercely independent, marching to a drum that beat for social justice and the underdog. His passions ran deep for the sciences, aviation, and solution-defiant physics problems – gravity among them.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Robert’s memory to the Southern Poverty Law Center https://www.splcenter.org/. A celebration of his life will be held at a later date.