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HERALD $1.00
Fireworks for the Fourth
Pesqueira wins big at Microsoft
Kiwanis presents scholarships
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Vol. 22 No. 28
JUlY 7 - 13, 2022
OBITUARY
Honoring a loved educator Ellen First, East Meadow High School English teacher, dies at 80 by MallorY WilSoN mwilson@liherald.com
Tim Baker/Herald
SeYMoUr TreibiSh, a veteran of World War II, turned 100 on July 3. Treibish and his wife, Grace, enjoyed a special drive-by parade.
Seymour Treibish celebrates 100 A patriotic birthday for a World War II vet by MallorY WilSoN mwilson@liherald.com
Celebrating his 100th birthday on ther Fourth of July weekend could not be more fitting for World War II veteran and East Meadow resident Seymour Treibish. Surrounded by family, Treibish got a special drive-by from the East Meadow Fire Department, East Meadow American Legion Post 1082, military escort riders known as the Patriot Guard Riders,
and other veterans. Serving in the United States Navy from 1942 to 1946 as a Seaman first class and an Aviation Ordnanceman second class, he worked stateside on top-secret drone projects moving around various states to keep the intelligence private. Once WWII ended, he returned to Brooklyn, where he was born, and married his wife Grace. The two are married for 72 years. They landed in East Meadow in 1974 and have lived in
their house ever since. “Dad has always had a sense of humor that’s been of f the char ts,” Cheryl Treibish-Dobbins, Triebish’s daughter said. “He’s a very proud veteran and he’s just the absolute best.” Presented with citation after citation, Treibish was overwhelmed by how many people showed up for his centenary celebration. “It’s outstanding,” Continued on page 11
For nearly half a century, Ellen First touched the lives and minds of students at East Meadow High School. The popular English teacher died June 20, after an almost three-year battle with leukemia. She was 80. Born in Florida in 1942, she grew up in Long Beach after moving there at age 3. She moved to Manhattan in 1973 and lived in Tudor City, a residential area on ellen Manhattan’s East Side. She spent most of her time teaching or in the theater, even bringing students into the city to see shows with her. “Ellen really took advantage of the city,” Rita Carter, one of First’s closest friends said. “She would always take students to see shows because she thought it was very important for them to be exposed to theater.” First’s niece Allie Heuy
described her as a “true force who was way before her time” with a “zest for life and mankind.” “She just left an impact with every single person that she met, be it a homeless person that she would check on regularly, to the people that worked in the bu i l d i n g , t o h e r neighbors, to her students, to her colleagues,” Heuy said of her aunt. When Heuy’s mother, Harriet Bernstein, died in 2006, First stepped up as a mother figure to her First and her sister Rachel Miles. “She was the most thoughtful person and never thought once about herself,” Heuy said. First retired from teaching June 1999 and went on to tutor and volunteer as an usher at theaters on and off-Broadway. “She was such an avid theater-goer and would get tickets for everyone,” Irene Majcher, a retired teacher from EMHS and Continued on page 14