Craig Schiffer, loved books and his family

Craig Schiffer’s love for reading not only made him a very talented writer, said his wife, but gave him an expansive knowledge of many subjects, making him a wiz at trivia games. He was also the go-to-guy for friends who needed their letters or essays edited.

“He never lost a game of Trivial Pursuit,” said Toni, his wife of 25 years. “We used to bug him to go on Jeopardy.”

The East Meadow resident died on Dec. 27 when he was struck by a police car while crossing a street in East Islip. He was 54. “It was a real loss,” said Toni. “He loved our kids. We were best friends and really enjoyed each other’s company.”

The couple met as students at SUNY New Paltz, where Craig studied English, and graduated in 1986. They married in 1989, and moved from Little Neck, Queens to East Meadow 10 years later.

Their son, Alex, 19, is a student at Columbia College in Chicago, and daughter, Lauren, 15, is a 10th grader at East Meadow High School.

Schiffer worked the last 10 years as a copy editor for Nikkei, a Japanese business and financial news company. He would receive the story translations in English, and not only edit, but essentially rewrite the articles to make them suitable for print, said his wife.

Before that, he was a newspaper reporter upstate, where he grew up, and also worked for the Queens Tribune. “He was a phenomenal writer,” said Toni. “Very talented.”

His favorite books were science fiction and fantasy fiction, but Schiffer’s literary taste was vast, and he would transition seamlessly from genre to genre. “He could read ‘Game of Thrones’ or he could read ‘Crime and Punishment,’” said Toni. “Either one, it was like the same thing to him.”

The youngest of Robert and Vivian Schiffer’s four children, Craig  grew up in Wassaic, in Dutchess County, and graduated from Webutuck High School.

In addition to reading and writing, he liked to be active, said his wife, particularly by skiing and playing tennis.  

“He knew a lot about the world,” said Toni. “It’s probably because he read so much.”

Services were held on Dec. 31 at the Thomas Dalton Funeral Home in Levittown. He is also survived by a brother, Robert, and sisters Sharon and Cherie.