Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Stephen Witt, a longtime education advocate and sports coach who dedicated nearly five decades to serving the Hewlett-Woodmere community, died Oct. 13 at 88 years old.
He spent his final two years receiving care at the Esplanade of Woodmere.
Throughout his extensive career in public service, Witt left a mark on Nassau County education while touching the lives of thousands of young athletes as a coach. He served on the Hewlett-Woodmere School District Board of Education from 1984 to 1996 and again from 2003 to 2018. He also dedicated 23 years to the Nassau BOCES Board of Education, serving eight terms before retiring in 2019 at age 84.
“He shaped tens of thousands of kids,” Marla Cohen, Witt’s daughter said. “He left a legacy that nobody else will ever compare to again.”
Born in 1935 in Great Neck, Witt graduated from Great Neck High School in 1953 before attending Michigan State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting in 1957. He went on to have a successful career in banking, working for institutions including J.P. Morgan and Citigroup until his retirement.
Witt’s true passion was mentoring young people, his daughters said.
“He gave me a really solid foundation as a kid,” Renee Miller, Witt’s daughter said. “He had this way of making me feel important even before I did anything important. He made me feel special.”
Over four decades, he served as an assistant coach for Hewlett High School’s football, basketball, and boys’ lacrosse teams.
His dedication to helping students extended beyond the playing field – he was known for taking struggling students out for pizza and offering guidance to those who needed extra support, Cohen said.
“He was probably one of the most selfless men I’ve ever met,” said Bill Dubin, who coached alongside Witt at Hewlett High School. “He only did things that would help others. He really wasn’t interested in any kind of attention for himself.”
His contributions to education were widely recognized. In 2009, he received both the New York State School Boards Association’s Outstanding School Board Member Award and the Town of Hempstead’s Make a Difference Award for his volunteerism. While serving on the Nassau BOCES board, he helped create the STAR program, providing property tax relief to eligible homeowners.
“Mr. Witt is leaving a powerful legacy of service, dedication and devotion to the students of Nassau County,” Nassau BOCES Superintendent Dr. Robert Dillon said upon Witt’s retirement in 2019.
Witt’s dedication to the community ran so deep that he got a Hewlett bulldog tattoo in his 70s, his daughter Renee Miller said. He was an avid sports fan who supported the New York Yankees, New York Giants, and his alma mater Michigan State.
David Friedman, President of the Hewlett Woodmere Business Association, called Witt “an incredible man who inspired many of us to serve our community.”
Witt was predeceased by his wife, Greta Ann Witt. He is survived by his daughters: Marla Cohen and her husband Ronnie; Renee Miller and her husband Billy; and grandchildren Garrett and Emma Cohen, and Ava Witt Miller.
His impact on the community continues through the generations – some of his grandchildren, now in Woodmere Middle School, are known by staff members as “Coach Witt’s grandkids,” Cohen said.
“He was a man of integrity with strong values and morals,” Cohen said. “He was a gem.”
