World War II veteran Seymour Sinuk turns 100

Seymour Sinuk, a World War II veteran and resident of the Belair Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in North Bellmore, turned 100 on Aug. 22. A well loved member of the Belair community, Sinuk was honored and celebrated in many ways.

Siunk grew up in the Bronx, his daughter Elise Knauer told the Herald, and graduated from Evander Childs High School. He was very active in the Boy Scouts and enlisted in the U.S. Army after high school.

He served in the air corp in Italy as a member of the 483rd Bombardment Group H, and worked on the radio communications of B-17 Bombers, which flew critical missions against enemy-controlled targets in Europe.

After the war, Sinuk became an engineer, married his wife, Claire in 1948, and had two daughters.

For a short time, Knauer said, Sinuk also worked at Cape Canaveral, Florida, where he assisted with some electronics in regards to the space program.

Knauer and her sister grew up in New Rochelle, where Sinuk was very involved with the Beth El Synagogue and an engineer with a local radio station.

“He just loved being an engineer,” she said.

Sinuk lives in Belair, and has Alzheimer’s disease, his daughter explained. She said that despite the illness, the two things in his life and memory that have remained extremely prominent is his military service and his love for Judaism.

“His memory is fading,” she said, “but the two things that remained prominent in his mind are his service in World War II, and his Judaism. That was very formative in his life.”

Sinuk’s wife died in 1991. At the time, the couple lived in a retirement community in New Jersey. With a love and background in radio and engineering, in the community, Sinuk started a radio station called “The Voice of Clearbrook” — which is still on air.

Knauer, and her husband, Todd, live in East Meadow, and for some time, Sinuk lived with them. He’s resided in Belair since 2020, where he has received tremendous care.

“It was so good to keep him there,” Knauer said, “because too many changes is no good for dementia.”

Through his daughters, Sinuk has four grandsons, five great-grandchildren, and one on the way, Knauer said.

“He took care of his family very well,” she added. “He took care of everybody, you know, as we were growing up. When I was growing up — he could fix anything. We never called a repairman, because Seymour could fix everything.”

He’s doing great at Belair, and enjoys the environment he’s in.

“His social skills are impaired due to the Alzheimer’s, but he just loves being with people,” Knauer said. “He may not process what’s going on, but truly, I think that the visual stimulation and the social stimulation and the auditory stimulation is really keeping him going. And it’s a credit to Belair — they have several people (living there) over 100.”

Sinuk was honored by local politicians in the area with citations, celebrating the momentous birthday.

Joe Baker, former president of the South Merrick Community Civic Association, representing County Executive Bruce Blakeman, wrote a Facebook post in his honor.

“Happy 100th birthday, Seymour,” Baker said, “and thank you for your service to our great country.”