November 8, 2011

It is with great sadness to report that my father passed away on November 8.
He was so brave and strong to the very end. His family will never forget his grace, dignity and integrity during these last two years as he struggled with the effects from his auto injury two years ago. Despite everything he went through, he managed to still retain a sense of humor.

Unfortunately he never regained the momentum and inspiration to return to his beloved blog after the accident. He was also quite ill and often too weak to think about writing – one of his many loves in life.

I want to sincerely thank everyone for their comments and friendship over the years. They meant the world to my father. It helped his spirit and ego so much.

Occasionally my father experienced brief moments of strength and inspiration, when we really thought that he might pull through everything he was going through. He had drafted the following - written in April 2011. This was his last small attempt at returning to his blog:

“After a 19-month absence, I am resuming publication of this blog. I want to thank the dozens of readers who kindly posted messages expressing concern about my absence and wishing me a successful recovery. Their compassionate words were as effective—and perhaps even more so—in my recovery than all the medical therapy that I was receiving.”

Below is a copy of my father’s obituary which was published in his beloved New York Times.
Mort’s daughter.

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Morton Reichek, a senior editor and senior writer for Business Week Magazine, died
November 8, 2011. He lived in Florida and was 87 years old. During his retirement, Reichek became one of the most prolific and well read "elderly bloggers," writing about politics, his childhood, Israel, and his war experiences. His blog www.octogenarian.blogspot was highlighted in the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and AARP magazine.

A journalist with very wide interests, Reichek wrote about topics ranging from business to military affairs to Yiddish literature. He was with Business Week, both in Washington, DC and New York for 31 years, retiring in 1988. Prior to joining the magazine in 1952, he was a press officer and editor for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. During two periods of absence from Business Week, he was a Washington correspondent for the Newhouse newspaper chain, an associate editor of Forbes Magazine and director of editorial services for Gulf & Western Industries, Inc.
Reichek contributed articles to the New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, The New Republic, The New Leader, and the Columbia Journalism Review. He was a former member of the National Press Club, the National Book Critics Circle and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. He is also listed in the Who's Who in America.

He was born in the East Harlem section of Manhattan and raised in the Bronx near Yankee Stadium. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School and earned a B.S. in journalism from New York University using the GI Bill. During WWII he served as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and was based for more than two years in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Sybil, a daughter, a son, and three grandsons. Another daughter, predeceased him.