Melvyn David Polatchek

Melvyn David Polatchek
01/05/1941 - 10/18/2016

~~Melvyn David Polatchek, 75, of Chatham, NJ, passed peacefully on October 18, 2016. Born in the Bronx, New York where he lived until the age of 10, he was raised in Wantagh, Long Island, where he graduated from Wantagh High School, Class of 1958. Following in his father’s footsteps, Melvyn worked in the printing business for over 40 years. In the early 1990s, he decided to make a career change and became a self-taught computer programmer. He continued working in programming for the rest of his professional career, most recently for the Huntington Learning Center in Oradell, NJ. Melvyn was an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Summit, where he served on the Racial Justice Committee and was a member of the Men’s Group. The church was great source of inspiration and fulfillment for him over the last decade. He had an immense love of music, especially jazz trumpet, a passion he shared with both his father and son. Melvyn was always actively engaged in politics and current events. One of his greatest joys was expressing his views through his political commentary blog, which he called “Adventures in Thought.” Melvyn was fascinated with airplanes, and took flying lessons when he was in his 60s. Melvyn is survived by his wife Theresa Polatchek (nee Chianese), sister-in-law Victoria Germano of Northport, NY, daughters Jennifer Clarke of Chatham, NJ, Jennifer Katarivas of Brooklyn, NY, Sarah Polatchek of Newtown, PA, Carolyn Turzo of Staten Island, NY, and Rebecca Beale of Banbury, United Kingdom, son Richard Polatchek of Jersey City, NY, two nieces, Christine Mallahan of Knoxville, TN, and Angele Roth of Spring Hill, Florida, and grandchildren Nick, Owen, Layla, Will, Mattan, Alex, Robert, Eric, Noah, Shaine, Matthew, Nico, Gianna, and Leo. There will be a private burial service on Friday, October 21st. A public memorial service will be held at 3:00pm on Saturday, October 22nd at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Summit, 4 Waldron Ave., Summit, NJ 07901. In lieu of flowers, donations in Melvyn’s name may be made to: Unitarian Universalist Church of Summit, 4 Waldron Ave., Summit, NJ 07901


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