Martin Segal

Martin Segal, 95, passed away on Thursday, March 23, 2023. Marty was born in August of 1927 in Brooklyn, New York, the third child of immigrant parents, Dora and Harry, who immigrated to the United States to make a better life for themselves. Unfortunately, Harry died when Marty was six years old; his mother never remarried. She worked multiple jobs to make sure Marty and his two older sisters had a roof over their heads and food on the table. Perhaps this is where Marty acquired his work ethic, as well as his love and respect for his fellow man. Marty always had an affection for aviation and was accepted into Manhattan Aviation High School. He took the subway to school every day and on occasion, would play hooky so he could go boating in Central Park. He started his war effort there as he made model planes that were sent off to the military to train spotters on plane identification. When Marty graduated high school, he went to work for American Airlines where he continued his war effort work in aviation. He was not yet eighteen, thus he could not be titled as a Mechanic, so his official title was Parts Washer. He worked on a crew that received DC-3s which had been converted into C-47s and then sent overseas. They would return torn and tattered and the crews there would completely strip down and rebuild the planes to be sent back to war. When he was finally of age, Marty enlisted in the US Navy for the “Duration of the War” which meant that he would serve until the war was over and he was no longer needed. During boot camp, he noticed flyers that the Navy was starting a program to train enlistees to become pilots. He immediately signed up for this program, and after passing a multitude of exams, the Navy sent Marty to Yale University where he would take two years of engineering classes in six months. About the time he finished the engineering classes, the war ended, and the program was canceled. Marty spent the rest of his time in the Navy aboard the USS Adirondack – a communications ship where he was a radio operator. In his later years, he would jokingly tell you that he can’t tell you what they worked on as he had to sign a pledge of secrecy and he just didn’t remember! After being released by the Navy, Marty married Gloria Taub in 1952 and had three children – Adrienne, Holly, and David. Marty and Gloria were married forty years before Gloria lost her battle with pancreatic cancer. Marty remarried Debbie Ostroff. That marriage thrived for twenty-one years before Debbie also succumbed to pancreatic cancer in February of 2017. Marty worked with his son as his business partner for almost thirty years before retiring at age 85. He resided in Sugar Land, Texas for most of his later years. His children, Adrienne, Dave, Holly Plost, and her husband Randy, his grandson, Brandon Plost, and his wife Faye, spent as much time with him as possible. His daughter, Adrienne, preceded him in death in 2022. Marty doted on his family and was happiest when he was surrounded by them. Those that were fortunate enough to get to know him would tell you what a kind and gentle person he was. He had a sense of humor that just wouldn’t quit. He always said that he enjoyed making people laugh for selfish reasons. He loved when he saw people smile. His family and all of those who knew him will miss him greatly. Donations in his memory may be made to Honor Flight Houston (https://www.honorflighthouston.org/donate/), the Dementia Society of America (https://dementiasociety.charityproud.org/donate), or The American Cancer Society (https://raiseyourway.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=cms.page&id=1051).

Martin Segal

August 11, 1927 - March 23, 2023