November 4, 2019
November 4, 2019
On this day, I am thinking about my much loved cousin Dr. Sidney Socolar. It is the one year anniversary of his passing. But more than mourning his death, I celebrate his life.
Sid Socolar was a loving son, husband, father, and grandfather; a professor who did research and teaching in physiology and biophysics; an advocate on public health issues in New York City and nationally; and a lifelong fighter for a more just and peaceful world.
Born in Baltimore in 1924, Sid was the son of Samuel and Sarah Socolar, both Jewish immigrants from the same village in Eastern Europe, who ran a small corner grocery store. He was a talented student who did undergraduate and graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University, earning his bachelor's degree in 1943 (at age 19), his master's degree in 1944, and his Ph.D. in 1945, all in chemistry.
After Sid held postdoctoral positions in chemistry at Johns Hopkins and Penn State, he did further graduate studies in physics at the University of Chicago. He served on the University of Chicago faculty from 1950 to 1957, first as instructor and later as assistant professor of physical sciences. He was inspired by the teaching philosophy there and maintained a lifelong interest in how education can encourage critical thinking.
A key turning point in his life came in 1950, when he met Ethel "Sandy" Beach, a former union organizer who was studying social work at the University of Chicago. They married in 1951 and soon had two children, Deborah and Paul.
In 1957, the family moved to Morningside Heights in New York City, where Sid worked at Columbia University as a researcher and then as assistant professor of physiology. In 1971 he joined the faculty of the University of Miami School of Medicine as an assistant professor of physiology and biophysics, where he rose to the rank of professor. He authored or co-authored more than a dozen peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, mostly on the physics of cell membranes.
Devoted to New York City, the family stayed in their apartment near the Columbia University campus with Sid as a commuter between New York and Miami. Sid and Sandy pioneered the two-city, two-professional, long-distance marriage long before it became common. In 1985, he returned to New York full-time in retirement.
From the 1950s, Sid also dedicated himself to policy analysis and activism with professional and community-based organizations advocating on public health issues. Initially he focused on the hazards of civilian and military nuclear technology, including campaigning for disarmament and against a nuclear reactor on the Columbia campus.
After his retirement, his advocacy focused on access to health care, Medicare, New York City's public health infrastructure, and the political economy of the pharmaceutical industry. Sid's primary involvements included the Public Health Association of New York City (PHANYC), the American Public Health Association, and Rekindling Reform – a New York-based coalition that he helped found, committed to securing affordable health care for all and defending existing social insurance programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. He was also a dedicated participant in struggles to preserve vital hospital and health services in West Harlem and across New York.
Sid and Sandy and their children were active in civil rights and antiwar protests of the 1960s, 1970s, and beyond. One highlight of Sid's involvement in many social justice causes was his civil disobedience protest and arrest in 1999 in response to the killing of Amadou Diallo by New York City police.
Sid died peacefully early Sunday morning November 4, 2018, in the Dawn Greene Hospice in New York City after a brief illness.
He is survived by his 102-year-old wife Sandy Socolar, his daughter Debbie Socolar and son Paul Socolar, daughter-in-law Sukey Blanc, and two grandchildren, Robin Socolar Blanc and Elena Socolar Blanc.
In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations in Sid's memory to the Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN), The Nation Institute, or LiLY (Lifeforce in Later Years).
Plans for a memorial are to be determined.
Please feel free to share a memory of Sid in the Tribute section below.
Born in Baltimore in 1924, Sid was the son of Samuel and Sarah Socolar, both Jewish immigrants from the same village in Eastern Europe, who ran a small corner grocery store. He was a talented student who did undergraduate and graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University, earning his bachelor's degree in 1943 (at age 19), his master's degree in 1944, and his Ph.D. in 1945, all in chemistry.
After Sid held postdoctoral positions in chemistry at Johns Hopkins and Penn State, he did further graduate studies in physics at the University of Chicago. He served on the University of Chicago faculty from 1950 to 1957, first as instructor and later as assistant professor of physical sciences. He was inspired by the teaching philosophy there and maintained a lifelong interest in how education can encourage critical thinking.
A key turning point in his life came in 1950, when he met Ethel "Sandy" Beach, a former union organizer who was studying social work at the University of Chicago. They married in 1951 and soon had two children, Deborah and Paul.
In 1957, the family moved to Morningside Heights in New York City, where Sid worked at Columbia University as a researcher and then as assistant professor of physiology. In 1971 he joined the faculty of the University of Miami School of Medicine as an assistant professor of physiology and biophysics, where he rose to the rank of professor. He authored or co-authored more than a dozen peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, mostly on the physics of cell membranes.
Devoted to New York City, the family stayed in their apartment near the Columbia University campus with Sid as a commuter between New York and Miami. Sid and Sandy pioneered the two-city, two-professional, long-distance marriage long before it became common. In 1985, he returned to New York full-time in retirement.
From the 1950s, Sid also dedicated himself to policy analysis and activism with professional and community-based organizations advocating on public health issues. Initially he focused on the hazards of civilian and military nuclear technology, including campaigning for disarmament and against a nuclear reactor on the Columbia campus.
After his retirement, his advocacy focused on access to health care, Medicare, New York City's public health infrastructure, and the political economy of the pharmaceutical industry. Sid's primary involvements included the Public Health Association of New York City (PHANYC), the American Public Health Association, and Rekindling Reform – a New York-based coalition that he helped found, committed to securing affordable health care for all and defending existing social insurance programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. He was also a dedicated participant in struggles to preserve vital hospital and health services in West Harlem and across New York.
Sid and Sandy and their children were active in civil rights and antiwar protests of the 1960s, 1970s, and beyond. One highlight of Sid's involvement in many social justice causes was his civil disobedience protest and arrest in 1999 in response to the killing of Amadou Diallo by New York City police.
Sid died peacefully early Sunday morning November 4, 2018, in the Dawn Greene Hospice in New York City after a brief illness.
He is survived by his 102-year-old wife Sandy Socolar, his daughter Debbie Socolar and son Paul Socolar, daughter-in-law Sukey Blanc, and two grandchildren, Robin Socolar Blanc and Elena Socolar Blanc.
In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations in Sid's memory to the Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN), The Nation Institute, or LiLY (Lifeforce in Later Years).
Plans for a memorial are to be determined.
Please feel free to share a memory of Sid in the Tribute section below.
Tributes
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February 10, 2019
February 10, 2019
Remembering Sid on his 95th Birthday. We had a wonderful time visiting Sid, Sandy and Debbie at their NYC apartment in June 2017. See link below to photo taken then. We reminisced about old times when Sid and my father, Robert Resnick were high school friends as well as visits I had with the Socolar family while a child. I treasure those memories.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/naTegcKd8F3s5c3g6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/naTegcKd8F3s5c3g6
December 3, 2018
December 3, 2018
From Frank Goldsmith -- and Barbara Storace:
Very saddened by Sid’s passing. He was and still is a great comrade in our fight for a decent health system for everyone.
I remember with great fondness the many meetings, telephone calls and our other means of communication we shared.
Utilizing his scientific physics training and profound humanism he always had a incisive comment on a difficult issue. All issues. Especially the profound crises we face today.
I still remember his telling me of his scientific political sojourn from Chicago to Columbia to Miami and back to NYC. Sid and Sandy were and still are our examples of combining political with family life.
He deserves and must get proper recognition. And a special hug to Sandy.
Very saddened by Sid’s passing. He was and still is a great comrade in our fight for a decent health system for everyone.
I remember with great fondness the many meetings, telephone calls and our other means of communication we shared.
Utilizing his scientific physics training and profound humanism he always had a incisive comment on a difficult issue. All issues. Especially the profound crises we face today.
I still remember his telling me of his scientific political sojourn from Chicago to Columbia to Miami and back to NYC. Sid and Sandy were and still are our examples of combining political with family life.
He deserves and must get proper recognition. And a special hug to Sandy.
November 27, 2018
November 27, 2018
This is the short memorial I presented to the Board of Physicians for a National Health Program:
What can one say about Sid? He was a natural and social scientist, an analyst, and an activist in so many fields, over so many years, that many of us knew him well in only a single sphere of his well-nigh universal activities. Yet he managed to connect all of his interests and his friends and fellow activists into an amazing, coherent whole.
He began in the hard sciences and spent his working years as a physicist, a biochemist, a physiologist, a philosopher of science, and more. In those years he was always an activist as well, working with many groups for peace, for disarmament, and against the spread of nuclear technology. He was always, as in later years, a good comrade and a hard worker for common interests and, indeed, for the wider public good.
After he retired from his academic science career, he began to focus on health and public health in a major way, using his deep-rooted knowledge of proper scientific methodology to become an expert in many aspects of those fields, becoming as knowledgeable in his chosen areas as many others who had advanced degrees and decades of experience in them.
Sid grew up in a lower middle class, mainly Jewish, world in Baltimore. Judging by so many others who came out of that world and that city, including our own Len Rodberg and David Kotelchuck, who also made aspects of health and public health their chosen fields of interest, Baltimore must have been a special place indeed (even if we provincial New York Jews had no idea of it), and his secular Jewish background surely helped point him to community service and love of truth, rationality, and desire to improve the world as he found it.
In the world of public health, I can only speak of my own experiences with Sid, although I know that many others have analogous stories in their own dealings with him. We worked together on many projects, analyses, and political activities. He was always in the lead and was a source of inspiration to me and others; he was, to be sure, my mentor in many of these activities. My own turn toward public health from health finance and economics was certainly guided by Sid, and I relied immensely on his knowledge, his common sense, and his ability to make connections among subjects that I might otherwise have missed or ignored. I owe my understanding of such varied things as the precautionary principle and health impact assessment, among many others (such as the nature of a scientific “theory”), to him.
In the Public Health Association of New York (PHANYC) he played a leading role in important projects, almost single-handedly creating and helping to lead major projects to analyze and understand the public health systems of the New York region; working to connect the disparate organizations, commissions, public authorities, and academic institutions that form its substance; and attempting to make them work together more collaboratively. He believed strongly in public and community planning at a time when that was sadly out of favor. At the same time, he played major roles in the American Public Health Association, serving with distinction in its Medical Care Section and in other important positions.
With others, some of them in this room, he founded Rekindling Reform, an organization dedicated to educating advocates, academics and the public regarding health reform issues and which, in later years, turned to advocating for and defending the wider sphere of social insurance, especially Medicare and Social Security. He was the heart and soul of this organization and we certainly could not have done our work without his tireless and invaluable oral and written input.
In all those years he was a committed friend to the single-payer movement and spent many hours at PNHP’s forums and other activities.
Finally, to me he was a good friend on those many occasions when I needed one, and I could always rely on his advice and thoughts in both good and bad times.
There is much more to be said about Sid, but not enough time to say it. I can summarize it all, and, to me, this is the highest accolade I can give him: he was a mensch.
What can one say about Sid? He was a natural and social scientist, an analyst, and an activist in so many fields, over so many years, that many of us knew him well in only a single sphere of his well-nigh universal activities. Yet he managed to connect all of his interests and his friends and fellow activists into an amazing, coherent whole.
He began in the hard sciences and spent his working years as a physicist, a biochemist, a physiologist, a philosopher of science, and more. In those years he was always an activist as well, working with many groups for peace, for disarmament, and against the spread of nuclear technology. He was always, as in later years, a good comrade and a hard worker for common interests and, indeed, for the wider public good.
After he retired from his academic science career, he began to focus on health and public health in a major way, using his deep-rooted knowledge of proper scientific methodology to become an expert in many aspects of those fields, becoming as knowledgeable in his chosen areas as many others who had advanced degrees and decades of experience in them.
Sid grew up in a lower middle class, mainly Jewish, world in Baltimore. Judging by so many others who came out of that world and that city, including our own Len Rodberg and David Kotelchuck, who also made aspects of health and public health their chosen fields of interest, Baltimore must have been a special place indeed (even if we provincial New York Jews had no idea of it), and his secular Jewish background surely helped point him to community service and love of truth, rationality, and desire to improve the world as he found it.
In the world of public health, I can only speak of my own experiences with Sid, although I know that many others have analogous stories in their own dealings with him. We worked together on many projects, analyses, and political activities. He was always in the lead and was a source of inspiration to me and others; he was, to be sure, my mentor in many of these activities. My own turn toward public health from health finance and economics was certainly guided by Sid, and I relied immensely on his knowledge, his common sense, and his ability to make connections among subjects that I might otherwise have missed or ignored. I owe my understanding of such varied things as the precautionary principle and health impact assessment, among many others (such as the nature of a scientific “theory”), to him.
In the Public Health Association of New York (PHANYC) he played a leading role in important projects, almost single-handedly creating and helping to lead major projects to analyze and understand the public health systems of the New York region; working to connect the disparate organizations, commissions, public authorities, and academic institutions that form its substance; and attempting to make them work together more collaboratively. He believed strongly in public and community planning at a time when that was sadly out of favor. At the same time, he played major roles in the American Public Health Association, serving with distinction in its Medical Care Section and in other important positions.
With others, some of them in this room, he founded Rekindling Reform, an organization dedicated to educating advocates, academics and the public regarding health reform issues and which, in later years, turned to advocating for and defending the wider sphere of social insurance, especially Medicare and Social Security. He was the heart and soul of this organization and we certainly could not have done our work without his tireless and invaluable oral and written input.
In all those years he was a committed friend to the single-payer movement and spent many hours at PNHP’s forums and other activities.
Finally, to me he was a good friend on those many occasions when I needed one, and I could always rely on his advice and thoughts in both good and bad times.
There is much more to be said about Sid, but not enough time to say it. I can summarize it all, and, to me, this is the highest accolade I can give him: he was a mensch.
November 25, 2018
November 25, 2018
I knew Sid in the context of Medical Care Section activities at the Amer Public Health Association. He was a most gracious mentor to me and I was awed by his passion for justice on pharmaceutical use. He strengthened my will to persist in the battle for judicious, parsimonious psychotropic medication use, particularly for children of the poor and foster care populations. Teaching by example--it can change the world!
November 24, 2018
November 24, 2018
Dear Sandy, Debbie, and Paul,
I am so sorry to learn of Sid's passing. He was such a bright and compassionate light in our world. My Dad was so lucky to grow up in Baltimore in that great circle of friends that included Sid, Bob Resnick, Sam Gaby, and Mayo Greenberg. Sid and Sandy's lifelong friendship was greatly treasured by my parents. When my Dad had to have surgery for an abdominal aneurysm, who called us at the motel the night before to comfort, encourage, uplift and reassure us? Sid Socolar--our dear, ever-thoughtful, true and eternal friend. Much love and dear thoughts, Nancy
I am so sorry to learn of Sid's passing. He was such a bright and compassionate light in our world. My Dad was so lucky to grow up in Baltimore in that great circle of friends that included Sid, Bob Resnick, Sam Gaby, and Mayo Greenberg. Sid and Sandy's lifelong friendship was greatly treasured by my parents. When my Dad had to have surgery for an abdominal aneurysm, who called us at the motel the night before to comfort, encourage, uplift and reassure us? Sid Socolar--our dear, ever-thoughtful, true and eternal friend. Much love and dear thoughts, Nancy
November 21, 2018
November 21, 2018
Dear Sukey & Paul: I’m sorry that I never met Sid——especially sorry now that I have read this beautifully crafted “forever missed” page: a testament to one of the good guys. For years, I have been aware of your serious commitment to “social justice” —a commitment reflected in your daily lives. A case in point: Sukey’s recent efforts to collect contributions to help the group of Palestinian women you met during your visit to Israel. This wasn’t an accident: you obviously went out of your way to find these women and then returned home to tell others about them and encourage our support. I know Sid would have been please with this continuation of his values.
November 19, 2018
November 19, 2018
Sid will be remembered for his steadfast leadership and advocacy to advance public health in New York City and nationally. His dedication to the cause over so many decades is a true inspiration. My condolences to the family. He will be missed by us all.
November 18, 2018
November 18, 2018
Sid was such a thoughtful, serious, strategic helpful and above all unwavering participant in Medical Care and Socialist Caucus events and meetings at APHA. I could always count on him to "be there" in every sense of the word. He will be greatly missed
Gordy Schiff
Gordy Schiff
November 10, 2018
November 10, 2018
Sid is my cousin (still cannot think of him in the past tense, so “is” my cousin). Sid is the man I looked up to more than anyone else in this world. He was a wise, decent, kind, human being. When Sid retired from academia, he entered into a whole new career in public health. I used to tell people that he & Sandy “are the most unretired retired people ever” always striving to make the world better for all. I loved visiting with him & with Sandy. It is a deep regret of mine that we could not visit more often. Even when my children were youngsters, Sid did not talk down to them, but engaged them in meaningful conversations and learned what was of interest to them. I still recall with a smile how he entertained them with making seltzer water which we living in the Midwest had not seen (well, I was familiar with it from early childhood in Pittsburgh). Sid was an incredible person. He took very seriously and with great love and dedication the struggle to help improve the lives of others especially those who had not the power to help themselves. He was tireless and his heart and intellect were huge. Sid was - and is deeply loved. I miss you, dear Sidney. Go in peace. You will be missed, but never, never forgotten.
November 9, 2018
November 9, 2018
It was wonderful, Paul, to read about your father’s life. I only met him once, when Jane I visited at your parents’ apartment in New York a number of years ago. Such a sweet, kind man. I’m thinking also of your mother, who was a teacher in our kindergarten classroom, where you and I met in 1960! Please tell her I am thinking of you, as of your whole family.
November 7, 2018
November 7, 2018
Dear Family,
Though not technically related, I still think of the Socolars as family. The last time I saw Sid and Sandy was probably over 20 years ago when I was in New York. We met for lunch and Sid and Sandy introduced me to sushi. Over the years we stayed in touch by email. Both Sid and Sandy did amazing work for the people of New York. I am saddened by his death and joyful that I had the good fortune to know him. I still keep in touch with some of the Caplans for they too will always be family. Sending strength to all the Socolars. May his memory be for a blessing. Naomi (Caplan) Herman
Though not technically related, I still think of the Socolars as family. The last time I saw Sid and Sandy was probably over 20 years ago when I was in New York. We met for lunch and Sid and Sandy introduced me to sushi. Over the years we stayed in touch by email. Both Sid and Sandy did amazing work for the people of New York. I am saddened by his death and joyful that I had the good fortune to know him. I still keep in touch with some of the Caplans for they too will always be family. Sending strength to all the Socolars. May his memory be for a blessing. Naomi (Caplan) Herman
November 6, 2018
November 6, 2018
Dear Sandy, Debbie and Paul,
I was so sad to hear of Sid's passing. I knew him and your family my entire life as my late Dad and Sid were friends growing up in Baltimore, MD. In my early childhood, I enjoyed our get togethers in NYC going to museums, sharing meals and just hanging out. I will never forget how your father and mother so kindly gave emotional and physical support to my parents during my sister Trudy's last year of life while she was a cancer patient (glioblastoma) at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
More recently I happily reconnected with Debbie and then her folks (and hopefully Paul again). I am so grateful that my husband Roger and I were able to visit with Sid, Sandy and Debbie at their apartment in June 2017. We reminisced about Sid and my Dad's early years as well as Sid and Sandy's lives together, and the lives of our children.
I am so lucky to have known Sid and to be friends with such a special family who cares so much about social justice. I cherish our friendship and the memories we share.
Love,
Abby
I was so sad to hear of Sid's passing. I knew him and your family my entire life as my late Dad and Sid were friends growing up in Baltimore, MD. In my early childhood, I enjoyed our get togethers in NYC going to museums, sharing meals and just hanging out. I will never forget how your father and mother so kindly gave emotional and physical support to my parents during my sister Trudy's last year of life while she was a cancer patient (glioblastoma) at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
More recently I happily reconnected with Debbie and then her folks (and hopefully Paul again). I am so grateful that my husband Roger and I were able to visit with Sid, Sandy and Debbie at their apartment in June 2017. We reminisced about Sid and my Dad's early years as well as Sid and Sandy's lives together, and the lives of our children.
I am so lucky to have known Sid and to be friends with such a special family who cares so much about social justice. I cherish our friendship and the memories we share.
Love,
Abby
November 5, 2018
November 5, 2018
We all share such a sense of loss with Sid's passing. He was just the most steady, persistent, determined, loyal, dedicated and informed presence in the movement for health care access and social justice. We will sorely miss him as we continue to strive for the goals and values he so ably represented.
November 5, 2018
November 5, 2018
We are grieved by the loss of Sid Socolar, a valued member of the National Jobs for All Network (formerly Coalition) and an Associate of the Columbia University Seminar on Full Employment, Social Welfare, and Equity. Sid always fought for the causes he valued—peace, healthcare for all, and full employment. He seemed never to tire or give up hope through many years of demonstrations and meetings and was an inspiration to us. It was an honor to know Sid; he will be sorely missed. We extend our condolences to Sandy Socolar, a partner in Sid’s commitment to social and economic justice and to Sid’s children and grandchildren.
Trudy Goldberg
Chair, National Jobs for All Network
Co-Chair, Columbia University Seminar on Full Employment, Social Welfare, and Equity
Trudy Goldberg
Chair, National Jobs for All Network
Co-Chair, Columbia University Seminar on Full Employment, Social Welfare, and Equity
November 5, 2018
November 5, 2018
Sukey’s words brought happy tears. I met Sid when Robin was born. I am confident he could not have wished for anything more in the women his granddaughters grew to be. (Not to mention Paul and Debbie!) I believe he was kvelling while Robin trained new people to cop watch.
I love the smile in his first photo here. It’s the smile I remember when he took time at Robin’s bat mitzvah to visit with my baby who needed a break from the party. Well, maybe Sid needed a little break, too, but I remember him telling me, as he had before and always in the most generous way, he thought me part of the family. The thing is, I don’t think many grandparents would have, and definitely not so sincerely.
The last time I saw Sid, he was coping with great stress getting the apartment ready for Sandy’s return from the hospital. But, of course, we still talked politics while he read the New York Times over lunch. Warmest hugs to his family. Peace, Sid. There’s a whole ocean of things to celebrate in your life.
I love the smile in his first photo here. It’s the smile I remember when he took time at Robin’s bat mitzvah to visit with my baby who needed a break from the party. Well, maybe Sid needed a little break, too, but I remember him telling me, as he had before and always in the most generous way, he thought me part of the family. The thing is, I don’t think many grandparents would have, and definitely not so sincerely.
The last time I saw Sid, he was coping with great stress getting the apartment ready for Sandy’s return from the hospital. But, of course, we still talked politics while he read the New York Times over lunch. Warmest hugs to his family. Peace, Sid. There’s a whole ocean of things to celebrate in your life.
November 5, 2018
November 5, 2018
Dear Sandy, Debbie and Paul,
I write on behalf of the NY Metro chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) and also the Medical Care Section of the American Public Health Association. We were deeply saddened to hear of Sid's passing. As you know, we valued his persistent advocacy of single-payer national health care reform and his pioneering effort in the Rekindling Reform group. Although because of his illness, we no longer saw him at our meetings, we will miss him even more now. Our thoughts are with you.
with love and respect,
Oli Fein
I write on behalf of the NY Metro chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) and also the Medical Care Section of the American Public Health Association. We were deeply saddened to hear of Sid's passing. As you know, we valued his persistent advocacy of single-payer national health care reform and his pioneering effort in the Rekindling Reform group. Although because of his illness, we no longer saw him at our meetings, we will miss him even more now. Our thoughts are with you.
with love and respect,
Oli Fein
November 5, 2018
November 5, 2018
Dear Paul, Debbie, and Sandy,
I am so sorry for your loss. I have such a clear memory of spending time with all of you at your apartment on 116th Street, and of Syd who was always friendly and a little intimidating. It is a privilege to be an in-law-once-removed of your wonderful, passionate, rational family. My thoughts are with all of you.
Love,
Dina
I am so sorry for your loss. I have such a clear memory of spending time with all of you at your apartment on 116th Street, and of Syd who was always friendly and a little intimidating. It is a privilege to be an in-law-once-removed of your wonderful, passionate, rational family. My thoughts are with all of you.
Love,
Dina
November 5, 2018
November 5, 2018
Dear Paul and Debbie,
I join with family and friends to pay tribute to Sid, part of our extended family but also a comrade in the struggle for Medicare For All. Over the course of many years, I was in regular touch with Sid in relation to this central struggle for working people in the United States. When I had questions about how to answer this or that new challenge to Single-Payer, I would contact Sid, who either had the answer or knew where to find it. He was amazingly lucid and sharp, almost to the very end of his life. Lita and I had a wonderful visit with Sid and Sandy this past June. I will never forget his warmth and his deep love for his family and friends. Best to you, always, Alan Benjamin
I join with family and friends to pay tribute to Sid, part of our extended family but also a comrade in the struggle for Medicare For All. Over the course of many years, I was in regular touch with Sid in relation to this central struggle for working people in the United States. When I had questions about how to answer this or that new challenge to Single-Payer, I would contact Sid, who either had the answer or knew where to find it. He was amazingly lucid and sharp, almost to the very end of his life. Lita and I had a wonderful visit with Sid and Sandy this past June. I will never forget his warmth and his deep love for his family and friends. Best to you, always, Alan Benjamin
November 5, 2018
November 5, 2018
Although I haven’t had the chance to spend much time with Sid, I’ve gotten to know and appreciate him through my friendship with Sukey and Paul. His clear belief that we have the power together to change institutions that hurt us, inspires me and helps me continue when campaigns are hard. Sending love to the whole family—especially Sandy.
November 5, 2018
November 5, 2018
Sid was an avid participant in UHCAN's national conferences and conference calls since our founding in 1992 and always was one of the most thoughtful of advocates, bringing his tremendous insights to our discussions and strategizing. I will always remember his deep, rich voice on our calls calmly raising questions that needed to be asked. Sid and Sandy were also dear, old friends of my parents, Frank and Lois Rosen, now both gone, since their days at the University of Chicago. Debbie, Paul and Sandy, please accept the condolences of all of us at UHCAN. What a wonderful life he lived and we are all enriched by his being among us in so many ways!
November 4, 2018
November 4, 2018
I remember Sid from my earliest years, in the 1950s, when his daughter Debbie and I went to nursery school together in the Morningside Heights neighborhood. At first, I simply thought of him as a kind grownup. But, as Debbie and I developed our friendship during our grade school years, I became aware that Sid was a scientist and political activist, concerned about nuclear power and its possible effects on humans. It was from Sid and his wife Sandy that my parents and I first heard about the presence of the radioactive isotope strontium-90 in cow’s milk, which caused my mother to ban fresh milk from our diet for several years.
Sometime later, when I was a young teenager, Sid and Sandy took Debbie and me to our first French movie, “La Guerre est Finie,” in which the sophisticated and world-weary Yves Montand smoked cigarettes, removed women’s blouses and attended secret meetings, whose purpose I did not entirely understand. The convoluted plot notwithstanding, this moody black-and-white film made an indelible impression on me. Debbie and I agreed it was the best movie we’d ever seen.
During much of my adult life, I’ve lived in the Columbia University neighborhood, not far from the Socolars. Throughout the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, I would often see Sid on Broadway, headed for the local grocery stores. He’d always stop to talk with me and catch up on family news. Throughout those years, he remained as politically active and engaged as ever. I found it inspiring to know he was still out there, fighting the good fight, concerned about the world his generation was bequeathing to their children, grandchildren and those to come after. His spirit of committed optimism remains a great gift to all of us.
Sometime later, when I was a young teenager, Sid and Sandy took Debbie and me to our first French movie, “La Guerre est Finie,” in which the sophisticated and world-weary Yves Montand smoked cigarettes, removed women’s blouses and attended secret meetings, whose purpose I did not entirely understand. The convoluted plot notwithstanding, this moody black-and-white film made an indelible impression on me. Debbie and I agreed it was the best movie we’d ever seen.
During much of my adult life, I’ve lived in the Columbia University neighborhood, not far from the Socolars. Throughout the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, I would often see Sid on Broadway, headed for the local grocery stores. He’d always stop to talk with me and catch up on family news. Throughout those years, he remained as politically active and engaged as ever. I found it inspiring to know he was still out there, fighting the good fight, concerned about the world his generation was bequeathing to their children, grandchildren and those to come after. His spirit of committed optimism remains a great gift to all of us.
November 4, 2018
November 4, 2018
On behalf of the Steering Committee of the Metro NY Health Care for All Campaign, a salute to one of the most intelligent, decent, dedicated and strategic brothers, and dear friends, the universal health care rights movement ever had. And just a great guy. Condolences of course to Sid's very accomplished family, who we'll get to hug in person very, very soon.
November 4, 2018
November 4, 2018
The ties between my wife Mona's family and the Socolars go back to the Upper West Side in the 1950s. In recent years, whenever Mona and I ran into Sid on Broadway, he was always glad to see us, and we were happy for the chance to hear what was going on with him and his family. In those conversations, I also felt in touch with our neighborhood's long tradition of fighting for social justice. Sid saw that struggle from a perspective we could only marvel at--and try to learn from. I will miss Sid's irrepressible vitality, which kept him alert and engaged far into his senior years. His example will help keep us working for the saner America that Sid knew was possible.
November 4, 2018
November 4, 2018
Sid was a determined, even relentless, fighter for social justice, especially (in my experience with him) in the cause of public health and access to health care. He pushed all of us forward, always believing that more could be done and that we had to do it. He always believed that we could make a difference, and he succeeded where many of us believed little could be done. He was a brilliant thinker and writer on health policy, always seeking ways to buttress weak-kneed politicians and force them to do the right thing. His determination and wisdom will be sorely missed in these difficult times.
November 4, 2018
November 4, 2018
On Friday night, November 2, 2018, I went to a service at Union Temple in Brooklyn. The night before, anti-Semitic graffiti had been scrawled inside the temple's walls. The service was packed with the multitudes who represent the New York City Sid loved. When the rabbi asked for names of those to pray for, I thought of Sid--how outraged he would be at the attack and how gratified by the show of support. I miss him.
I remember a post-meeting burger/beer several of us went for and Sid's deep chuckle as we talked of things not purely political. He straddled the academic and grassroots activist communities with grace, intensity, and commitment. He was a teacher beyond the days he wore the title, and I'm sure many of his lessons were of means as well as material. His legacy is in all of us students as well as in the papers and political groups he created.
I remember a post-meeting burger/beer several of us went for and Sid's deep chuckle as we talked of things not purely political. He straddled the academic and grassroots activist communities with grace, intensity, and commitment. He was a teacher beyond the days he wore the title, and I'm sure many of his lessons were of means as well as material. His legacy is in all of us students as well as in the papers and political groups he created.
November 4, 2018
November 4, 2018
What a wonderful guy--his spirit definitely lives on! And we even share a birthday. Love you you all.
November 4, 2018
November 4, 2018
I only knew Sid through his daughter Debbie. She and I worked together in Cambridge and Boston during the 1970s and early 1980s as student activists and later as union and community organizers. Her parents' commitment to peace and justice was always there in her. She told me of the sacrifices her parents had to make during the dark days of McCarthyism and their resilience was always an inspiration. I send my love and admiration, and I hope you can all hold onto each other and to your memories of your father.
November 4, 2018
November 4, 2018
It was several years into Paul and Sukey's relationship before I actually met Sid because he was still teaching in Miami during the years I lived in New York City. Although I heard a lot about him from Sandy ( whose job was housed at Bank Street Teachers College where I got my credential), truth be told, I was a bit unsure about this somewhat mysterious member of my extended family. I thought to myself " It is a rare individual who can maintain a long distance relationship over such an extended period of time ".
Sid ( and Sandy) along with him, of course, was that loving,caring individual who was fully committed to his family, his work and to fighting for social justice. When we were able to spend time together at family gatherings, he was always both interesting to talk to and interested in hearing about my life as a teacher and an activist. The last few times that I visited him, despite his deteriorating health, he had clearly kept up with world events and was ready to exchange ideas with me about public education, the labor movement and single payer healthcare ( among many concerns).
To Sandy,Debbie, Paul, Sukey, Robin and Elena: Please accept my deepest sympathy. Such a loss is difficult to absorb, no matter the circumstances.
Sid ( and Sandy) along with him, of course, was that loving,caring individual who was fully committed to his family, his work and to fighting for social justice. When we were able to spend time together at family gatherings, he was always both interesting to talk to and interested in hearing about my life as a teacher and an activist. The last few times that I visited him, despite his deteriorating health, he had clearly kept up with world events and was ready to exchange ideas with me about public education, the labor movement and single payer healthcare ( among many concerns).
To Sandy,Debbie, Paul, Sukey, Robin and Elena: Please accept my deepest sympathy. Such a loss is difficult to absorb, no matter the circumstances.
November 4, 2018
November 4, 2018
Last night, we lost my father-in-law, Sid Socolar. This morning I dropped off my daughter, Robin, at a Jewish congregation in Philadelphia where she was co-leader of a training about community-based strategies for resisting police violence. Paul and I were confident that Sid would want her to do this training. Sid himself had been arrested at age 75 for protesting police brutality in New York, along with others from Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, which is the very same group that Robin is part of.
Our whole family will miss Sid deeply. But I do find comfort, as I think Sid did, in knowing that the values of social justice, critical thinking, curiosity and love that were embraced by Sid and Sandy flourish in the lives of Debbie, Paul, and his grand-daughters, Robin and Elena. And I might also add that all of Sid's descendants are stubborn, as he was.
It’s hard to imagine what my life would have been like without my relationship with Sid and his love, his intelligence and his lifelong commitment to social justice. I feel extremely lucky and privileged to have been loved by Sid and to be part of his wonderful family.
Our whole family will miss Sid deeply. But I do find comfort, as I think Sid did, in knowing that the values of social justice, critical thinking, curiosity and love that were embraced by Sid and Sandy flourish in the lives of Debbie, Paul, and his grand-daughters, Robin and Elena. And I might also add that all of Sid's descendants are stubborn, as he was.
It’s hard to imagine what my life would have been like without my relationship with Sid and his love, his intelligence and his lifelong commitment to social justice. I feel extremely lucky and privileged to have been loved by Sid and to be part of his wonderful family.
Leave a Tribute
Recent Tributes
November 4, 2019
November 4, 2019
On this day, I am thinking about my much loved cousin Dr. Sidney Socolar. It is the one year anniversary of his passing. But more than mourning his death, I celebrate his life.
February 10, 2019
February 10, 2019
Remembering Sid on his 95th Birthday. We had a wonderful time visiting Sid, Sandy and Debbie at their NYC apartment in June 2017. See link below to photo taken then. We reminisced about old times when Sid and my father, Robert Resnick were high school friends as well as visits I had with the Socolar family while a child. I treasure those memories.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/naTegcKd8F3s5c3g6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/naTegcKd8F3s5c3g6
December 3, 2018
December 3, 2018
From Frank Goldsmith -- and Barbara Storace:
Very saddened by Sid’s passing. He was and still is a great comrade in our fight for a decent health system for everyone.
I remember with great fondness the many meetings, telephone calls and our other means of communication we shared.
Utilizing his scientific physics training and profound humanism he always had a incisive comment on a difficult issue. All issues. Especially the profound crises we face today.
I still remember his telling me of his scientific political sojourn from Chicago to Columbia to Miami and back to NYC. Sid and Sandy were and still are our examples of combining political with family life.
He deserves and must get proper recognition. And a special hug to Sandy.
Very saddened by Sid’s passing. He was and still is a great comrade in our fight for a decent health system for everyone.
I remember with great fondness the many meetings, telephone calls and our other means of communication we shared.
Utilizing his scientific physics training and profound humanism he always had a incisive comment on a difficult issue. All issues. Especially the profound crises we face today.
I still remember his telling me of his scientific political sojourn from Chicago to Columbia to Miami and back to NYC. Sid and Sandy were and still are our examples of combining political with family life.
He deserves and must get proper recognition. And a special hug to Sandy.
Gallery
(photo credit - LiLY, Lifeforce in Later Years)
Portland, Mt. Hood, 2007 (photo by Paul)
That's Sid (2nd from left), with Neva Fowler, Sandy Socolar, Bob Bamford, and Debbie Socolar.
Two 1950 letters from DuBois to Sid.
Sid's copy of a 1952 letter from Einstein.
Sid enjoyed a 2018 visit from Buttons
end of 2016, Sid in rehab after a fall (with Sandy and Paul)
2004 health care march, Boston. L to R: friend Neva Fowler, Sid, Sandy, Debbie's husband Bob, Debbie
Sid (right) with his cousins Milt and Dorothy
Recent stories
Remembering my dad one year later, on the eve of an election
November 3, 2019
by Paul Socolar
My dad passed away a year ago – Nov. 4 – but if I could
have, I would have called him this weekend and told him about the work Sukey and I and many friends of ours have been doing to help get the Working Families Party candidates elected to Philadelphia City
Council at-large.
If we could talk, he would be interested and supportive, glad to hear that I will spend the day on Tuesday working at the polls, and excited to hear that I think they can win - and replace the Republicans as Philadelphia's #2 party. He probably would ask to tell him more about Kendra Brooks and Nic O'Rourke and would be pleased to hear that Helen Gym was a key endorser and supporter, having heard about Philly politics over the years. He’d want to hear about the Working Families Party’s history in Philly, what issues the campaign was focusing on, and the balance of forces in City Council, and how that could change.
I started to pick up an interest in independent political action from my mom and dad in childhood. One of my first political memories is of hearing my dad talk about why we had to support LBJ against Goldwater despite Vietnam and other bad policies. But a year later in the New York City mayoral election, he was casting a third-party protest vote. I did the same in an in-school poll before that election and still remember vividly my fifth-grade teacher reporting John Lindsay’s margin of victory to the teacher collecting classroom results and adding with a laugh “and there was one vote for a socialist!”
While my dad put more energy into the organizations he worked with on issues like health policy than he did on electoral work, he understood the power that elected officials have. He read and thought deeply about each election and was always interested in discussing the electoral politics issues of the day and engaging others in thinking about who we should be supporting. His positions weren’t always predictable. But if he were with us, there’s no doubt he’d be following the political battles about how to defeat Trump, and also whatever races were taking shape in New York and around the country.
A year ago, in his last hours, he had difficulty speaking but seemed heartened by the hopeful projections about the impending congressional elections. In his last years, one of his regular financial contributions was to the Working Families Party.
On Tuesday night, he and my mom would want to hear from me how it went at the polls and so I’d call. I’m picturing that call. What I will really miss more than anything is the heartfelt “Mazel tov!” from him when I share the good news.
His ability to cheer and celebrate victories was part and parcel of his lifelong commitment to the struggle for social justice. I feel I owe it to him and my mom to maintain some fraction of their optimism about the possibility for change and their determination to work for a better world.
If we could talk, he would be interested and supportive, glad to hear that I will spend the day on Tuesday working at the polls, and excited to hear that I think they can win - and replace the Republicans as Philadelphia's #2 party. He probably would ask to tell him more about Kendra Brooks and Nic O'Rourke and would be pleased to hear that Helen Gym was a key endorser and supporter, having heard about Philly politics over the years. He’d want to hear about the Working Families Party’s history in Philly, what issues the campaign was focusing on, and the balance of forces in City Council, and how that could change.
I started to pick up an interest in independent political action from my mom and dad in childhood. One of my first political memories is of hearing my dad talk about why we had to support LBJ against Goldwater despite Vietnam and other bad policies. But a year later in the New York City mayoral election, he was casting a third-party protest vote. I did the same in an in-school poll before that election and still remember vividly my fifth-grade teacher reporting John Lindsay’s margin of victory to the teacher collecting classroom results and adding with a laugh “and there was one vote for a socialist!”
While my dad put more energy into the organizations he worked with on issues like health policy than he did on electoral work, he understood the power that elected officials have. He read and thought deeply about each election and was always interested in discussing the electoral politics issues of the day and engaging others in thinking about who we should be supporting. His positions weren’t always predictable. But if he were with us, there’s no doubt he’d be following the political battles about how to defeat Trump, and also whatever races were taking shape in New York and around the country.
A year ago, in his last hours, he had difficulty speaking but seemed heartened by the hopeful projections about the impending congressional elections. In his last years, one of his regular financial contributions was to the Working Families Party.
On Tuesday night, he and my mom would want to hear from me how it went at the polls and so I’d call. I’m picturing that call. What I will really miss more than anything is the heartfelt “Mazel tov!” from him when I share the good news.
His ability to cheer and celebrate victories was part and parcel of his lifelong commitment to the struggle for social justice. I feel I owe it to him and my mom to maintain some fraction of their optimism about the possibility for change and their determination to work for a better world.
Sid and DuBois
February 10, 2019
by Paul Socolar
Remembering my dad on what would be his 95th birthday, one story I haven't shared widely just came to light a few years ago when we were starting work on paring down my parents' book collection. My daughters were going through the bookshelves and were very excited to discover that two books they were interested in had inscriptions inside the front cover: Black Reconstruction in America and The Souls of Black Folk were both signed by W.E.B DuBois. We immediately asked my dad how that had come about.
He said that when he was at the University of Chicago, he had helped arrange a speaking engagement for DuBois at the university and he got the assignment/honor of getting to pick up DuBois at Chicago's Union Station to bring him to the talk. He got the inscription during this visit. Later we found a series of letters (two of them shown here) between my dad and DuBois that made clear that my dad was a key organizer for this event in the winter of 1950 - actually 69 years ago yesterday. Just one example of the kind of nitty-gritty organizational work that my dad continued to do till just a few years ago.
I remember clearly that my parents' copy of Black Reconstruction in America was a book of special importance to me; I carried it around for quite a while when I was in high school. But somehow it didn't stick with me that I was holding a copy signed by DuBois himself. I had a very good American history course where we were encouraged to argue about different interpretations of historical events, and DuBois's view of the Reconstruction period as revolution and restoration, now widely accepted, was still not much part of the mainstream narrative on the period. So the book supplied me with some strength and ammunition to make some outside-of-the-box comments in my class for several weeks as we were studying the decades after the civil war. DuBois's brilliant scholarship was not so widely recognized in the early 70s as it is today, but thanks to my parents, I was exposed to his work in high school.
Sid and Einstein
November 18, 2018
by Paul Socolar
As a physicist, Sid was an admirer of Einstein's work, and not surprisingly Sid's library included many books on relativity theory. But he was also an admirer of Einstein's work as a humanitarian and activist. And he was proud of two letters from Einstein himself - responses to his own letters - that he kept in his file. Some of his correspondence with Einstein is also in the Einstein Archives Online.
The longer letter, from 1952, shown here, was responding to Sid's letter sent on behalf of the Faculty-Graduate Committee for Peace at the University of Chicago. In it, Einstein expressed his "complete agreement" with a statement Sid had co-authored critiquing the rearming of Germany during the Cold War -- and agreed to be a signer of the statement. Einstein added a long postscript about the geopolitical situation in which he expressed fear of a US "preventive war" against Russia.
Sid was hopeful enough about engaging Einstein in supporting disarmament causes that he once enlisted his dad to drive up with him from Baltimore to Einstein's home in Princeton, NJ, to try to have a few minutes with him. They had heard that other people had gone there and had managed to meet with Einstein. But that trip was unsuccessful - he and his dad spent the several hours on Einstein's porch and ultimately went home.