Paul Gertz of Hampton Bays died on January 22. He was 97.
He was born in Brooklyn on October 25, 1925, to Louis and Freida Gertz, he was a caring husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother and friend, his family said.
In addition to decades of working as an independent Brooklyn real estate agent, his diverse pursuits ranged over time to include wandering the SoHo art scene, acting on off-off-Broadway, adventurous dining, practicing bagpipes and recorder, basking in summer beach days, and perfecting his chopped salad or “guac-a-mole.”
He was a World War II veteran, a post-war bohemian, stalwart Democratic voter, and everyman intellectual who loved reading and talking about news, history, politics, Jewish thought and Western philosophy. “You gotta understand …” he would say. Friends and family miss him deeply, his family said.
He is survived by Anne, his beloved wife of 38 years; children Emily, Lucy and Matt and their spouses; and grandchildren Zion, Sage and Josia. He was predeceased by his first wife, Valeria, in 1971.
Memorial donations can be made to the Southern Poverty Law Center (splcenter.org) and the American Civil Liberties Union (aclu.org).