Seymour Treibish celebrates 100

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 off the charts,” 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,” Treibish said. “Boy, did they turn out.”

“Mr. Treibish actually thanked me for coming today in the middle of a Fourth of July weekend to celebrate his birthday, and I thought ‘where else should I be?’ said Kate Murray, town clerk. “What’s better than this place right now, honoring a World War II veteran on our nation’s independence.

“It’s all about you. It’s all about the generation of veterans who have served, protected, and defended our honor, our freedoms, and our way of life and our democracy.”

Pete Wenninger, commander of Post 1082 spoke of the importance of remembering veterans and their sacrifices. “We’re gathering to remember, to honor and respect those who came before us,” Wenninger said.

“There are quite a few (veterans) with us today and that is an outstanding show of support for our veterans.”
After the war, Treibish worked in sales as a manufacturing representative fordifferent companies over the years and had his own manufacturing businesswhen he lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Dobbins said that her dad was an avid gardener and always had something growing in his vegetable garden. He was a bowler and participated in an East Meadow bowling league for many years. Dobbins mentioned that her father was an outdoorsman and taught her how to fish.

“He’s just amazing,” Dobbins said. “He taught me everything I know.”

Wayne Treibish, Seymour’s son, spoke about how great his parents are. “We couldn’t have asked for better parents,” Wayne said. One of the best memories with his dad, he said, was when he took Seymour—a big Yankee fan—to a game for his 90th birthday and it wound up being the day that Derek Jeter got his 3,000th hit.

Grace, Seymour’s wife who is five years his junior, said that they have so many happy memories together. “We had a great life,” Grace said. “There’s a lot of humor, respect, and never being extremely angry at one another.” Grace worked with him as his secretary when he had his own business.

Seymour said that he doesn’t feel 100 at all, and if it wasn’t for losing his eyesight last year, he would feel even younger.

His advice for the younger generation is to always keep things positive. “You’ve got to have a P.A., a positive attitude,” he said. “You can’t walk around saying this hurts or this hurts or I have a headache. That’s not a positive attitude, you have to have a positive attitude all the time.”