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Harold Francis Reichenthal
Harold F. Reichenthal
Harold F. Reichenthal, at 99
Born(1921-06-01)June 1, 1921
The Bronx, New York
DiedOctober 9, 2021(2021-10-09) (aged 100)
Boca Raton, Florida
Occupation(s)English teacher, college dean, life insurance salesman, financial planner
Years active1960-1990
Known forHosting "Dollars and Sense" on radio and TV

Harold Francis Reichenthal (June 1, 1921–October 9, 2021), was a local celebrity in the Albany, New York, area. He had an unusual career, moving profitably from academia to free-lance work providing financial services. Along with speaking before many groups without charge, he hosted Dollars and Sense, a TV and radio talk show, taking listener calls and giving financial advice. He was a member of then-governor Mario Cuomo's team creating the New York State Lottery.[1] His life was eventful, with much to take pride in, and he often told colorful stories about it.

Early life[edit]

Harold was born in the Bronx on June 1, 1921, son of Charles (1889-1928) and Helen Sattler Reichenthal (1897-1932). Charles, who immigrated from Galicia, Austria, was first a tailor but then became a very successful fashion artist. Driving the family to Miami in 1928 for a holiday, a tire explosion caused a crash.[1] He was killed, his mother Helen and his brother Eugene were seriously injured, and Harold's beloved dog Sally also died. Harold was 7. Helen remarried in 1931, but died of injuries related to the accident, while giving birth to Harold and Eugene's half-sister Helen Susan Malachoff (1932–1992). Rejecting an adoption offer from a relative, the boys of 11 and 14 were, in Harold's terms, "left to fend for themselves", but they thrived, remaining alone in the fully paid family home in Flushing, New York.[1] "No parents, no bedtime", was how Harold described their life then. A grandmother, who Harold described as nearly blind and deaf, sometimes visited and cooked for them. "Until the money ran out" they also had a live-in housekeeper.[1]

The Army Air Corps[edit]

Harold graduated from Bayside High School, in Queens, in 1940. In high school, he took up gymnastics and was selected to train with the US Men's Olympic Team. Unfortunately World War II ensued, the Olympics were suspended, as were his studies; he had joined his older brother Eugene at Ithaca College, and wrote for the campus paper The Ithacan,[2][3] of which Eugene was Managing Editor.[4] Harold joined the US Army Air Corps in 1942,[5] and was trained as a pilot, bombardier, and navigator. During his training—at Keesler Field, in Biloxi, Mississippi—he met the love of his life, Valerie Williams. He served in the 13th Force Philippine Campaign and achieved the rank of first lieutenant.[6][7] He and Valerie were married when he returned to the U.S., in 1945, and they remained happily married for 69 years, until her death in 2014. They had three children, Judith Eisenberg, Randy Ryder, and Chip Reichenthal.[1]

Teacher, then professor, then dean[edit]

Following the war, along with 6 years in the Army Air Force Reserve, Harold finished his B.S. at Ithaca College. According to the yearbook his degree was in drama,[8]: 42  but he always described it as the more salable "English and Speech". Along with participating in many play productions[9]—he "stole the show" as the lion in Androcles and the Lion, of George Bernard Shaw[10][11]—he was a cheerleader, building on his gymnastics skills, and a member of the drama fraternity Theta Alpha Phi.[8]: 108  He went on to earn an M.S. in Public School Administration at the New York State College for Teachers at Albany (Albany State).[7] From 1948 to 1953 he was the English teacher ("head of the English Department") at Mayfield Central School, Mayfield, New York, where he organized a community theatre, and was a Cub Scout den leader and a volunteer fireman. In 1953 the Rensselaer County Technical Institute, later Hudson Valley Community College, opened; he was its first English professor, and soon after, its first Dean of Students. All his friends knew, because he told them, that he had been the first Dean of Students at Hudson Valley Community College.[1] He later claimed credit for pushing for the new name, inspired no doubt by the earlier Mohawk Valley Community College, but the change in name was after Harold's departure.

Financial services[edit]

Despite his academic employment, Harold described himself then as poor. He took a summer job selling aluminum . He was very successful and progressed to selling life insurance; he resigned his position at Hudson Valley Technical Institute in 1954.[12] In 1955 he joined the Home Life Insurance Company (today part of The Phoenix Companies), and was soon one of their most successfully salesmen nationally.[7] Life insurance underwriting expanded to become financial planning,[13] He was a great success as a lecturer on financial topics, and he saw the world while a paid lecturer on cruise ships.[1]

Harold's first company, of which he was the President, was Harold F. Reichenthal Financial Advisors Inc.; he talked on "new tax laws and investing" in 1986.[14] In 1987 he incorporated Reichenthal, Family & Agel,[15] with office at 24 Computer Drive West, Colonie, New York, which became one of the most successful such firms in New York's Capital District. He served as a member of then-Governor Mario Cuomo's team responsible for developing the New York State Lottery. He was a local celebrity, hosting both radio and television programs named "Dollars and Sense," on which he gave financial advice.[1]

The list of his community and charitable activities and donations is extensive. A fan of ballet, he was a life sponsor of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He served as president[16][17] and legislative chairman[18] of the Boght Hills Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), president of the North Colonie PTA Council,[7][19] the Albany Heart Association, the Albany Life Underwriters Association, the Sacandaga Men's Teachers Association, the Fulton County District Teacher's Association, and the Mayfield Central School Teachers Association.[7] He served as national vice chairman of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.[7] He served two terms as president of the Albany County Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Foundation, followed by the presidency of the Capital District Association and a member of the Board of Directors of the national association.[7][6]

After his retirement in the late 1980s, he and Valerie moved to Boca Raton, Florida, because, he said, they found the people there to be the friendliest of any of the retirement communities they visited. There he lived life to its fullest, playing golf into his 80s and tennis until he was 95, and he was also an expert bridge player. He was a wonderful storyteller with a repertoire of amazing stories, and even repeated stories were enchanting. He contributed generously to charities, among them the Jewish Federation of South Florida,[20] was fair to everyone, and was always a great companion. His mailman came to his memorial service to talk of how Harold had befriended him. He was a person you hoped you would sit next to on an airplane, a pleasure to be near. The world is a better place because he was here.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Harold Francis Reichenthal (obituary)". Neptune Society. 2021.
  2. ^ Reichenthal, Harold (October 17, 1941). "Footlights and Camera". The Ithacan (Ithaca, New York). p. 2.
  3. ^ Reichenthal, Harold (October 31, 1941). "Footlights and Camera". The Ithacan (Ithaca, New York). p. 2.
  4. ^ "(Masthead)". The Ithacan (Ithaca, New York). October 17, 1941. p. 2.
  5. ^ "Board Awaits July Quota". Ithaca Journal (Ithaca, New York). 6 Jun 1942. p. 3 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b "Reichenthal Heads Merged Area TB Unit". Times Record (Troy, New York). (The same article, with the title "Reichenthal heads Union Area TB Unit", appeared on p. 4 of the May 13 Troy Record). 12 May 1969. p. 15.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Reichenthal On Board of Health Unit". Times Record (Troy, New York). 29 April 1972 – via ancestry.com.
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Cayugan1948 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Bay Ridge News". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York). 16 Apr 1942. p. 4 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Ithaca College to present Shaw play". Ithaca Journal (Ithaca, New York). 28 Oct 1941. p. 5 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Stage. 'Androcles and the Lion' Ithaca College Players". Ithaca Journal (Ithaca, New York). 6 Nov 1941. p. 9 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Farewell party Given for HVTI Instructor". Troy Record (Troy, New York). 10 Dec 1954. p. 53 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Insurance man addresses dentists". Troy Record (Troy, New York). 25 Jan 1961. p. 11 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "New Tax Laws Explained" (PDF). The Spotlight (Delmar, New York). December 3, 1986. p. 15.
  15. ^ Pinckney, Barbara (June 1, 2001), "Reichenthal Family & Agel join McDonald investments", Albany Business Review, retrieved November 1, 2021
  16. ^ "Boght Hills PTA names chairmen". Troy Record (Troy, New York). 2 Oct 1957. p. 24 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Boght Hills PTA Elects Officers". Troy Record (Troy, New York). 17 Apr 1957. p. 19 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Boght Hills PTA to hear celeb Paine". Times Record (Troy, New York). 22 Mar 1957. p. 17 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Edgar S. Pitkin Made Honorary Life Member of Congress of P.T.A." Glens Falls Times (Glens Falls, New York). February 6, 1959. p. 11 – via New York State Historic Newspapers.
  20. ^ "2008 Annual Campaign". Annual Report & Honor Roll. Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County. 2008. p. 47.

[Category:Centenarians]]

[Category:People from Flushing, Queens]]

[Category:People from Fulton County, New York]]

[Category:People from Colonie, New York]]

[Category:People from Niskayuna, New York]]

[Category:People from Boca Raton, Florida]]

[United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II]]

[Category:Ithaca College alumni]]

[Category:University at Albany, SUNY alumni]]

[Category:American high school teachers]]

[Category:Schoolteachers from New York (state)]]

[Category:Hudson Valley Community College]]

[Category:Academics from New York (state)]]

[Category:American university and college faculty deans]]

[Category:Life insurance]]

[Category:Financial planners]]

[Category:Lecturers]]

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