Obituary: Seymour (Sy) Pomper
Dr. Seymour (Sy) Pomper, age 95, was born May 8, 1925, in New York City to Ruth (Graubard) and Israel Pomper.
Dr. Seymour (Sy) Pomper, age 95, was born May 8, 1925, in New York City to Ruth (Graubard) and Israel Pomper. He and his brother Lester grew up in New York City working in the family delicatessen while his mother was a nurse.
After graduating from the prestigious Townsend Harris High School in New York at age 16, Sy proceeded to be the youngest person believed ever enrolled at Cornell University. During World War II, Sy was a sergeant in the U.S. Army, where he worked on chemical and biological warfare. After the war, Sy continued his education at Yale University, where he earned a master’s and a doctorate degree. He then carried out radiation and genetic studies on yeast at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Later, Sy began working for Standard Brands as a microbiologist. Sy was a leader in his field and published numerous papers, receiving 16 patents for his innovations. During his tenure at Standard Brands, Sy invented what would become popular products such as Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise yeast, Egg Beaters, and Home Hearth bread mix.
On Oct. 3, 1953, Sy married Judith Irene (Judy) Grossman of blessed memory. They settled first in Norwalk, Conn., and later moved to Stamford, where they lived for over 50 years. Judy and Sy had four children Joseph, Laurie (Yakis) Grannat, Roni (Arthur) Tillem, and William; six grandchildren Yinon (Leah) Grannat, Eliya (Elazar) Grannat-Bashan, Bnaya (Rotem) Grannat, Alix (Paul) Johnson, David (Jess) Tillem, and Nicole (Alex) Chanson; and eight great-grandchildren.
Sy also liked to have fun. His lunchtime bridge game with work colleagues was so lively, they regularly attracted a crowd of onlookers. He was a member of the Standard Brands bowling league and later played in a regular tennis game with a group of fellow senior citizens. Sy loved to listen to music and to dance the Lindy.
To Sy and Judy, family was everything. They brought their Israeli grandchildren to Atlanta every summer for many years to ensure that they and their Atlanta cousins would know each other well. Judy and Sy loved to travel, making regular visits to California to see Bill, to Israel to see their daughter and grandchildren, and all over the world to wherever their son, a Foreign Service officer, was posted. In 2006, Judy and Sy moved to Atlanta, where their daughter and her family lived. As he had in Connecticut, Sy set up and ran two successful men’s discussion groups at the Atlanta Jewish Community Center.
Sy cared deeply about his family and community. His combination of fierce intelligence, boundless intellectual curiosity, quiet strength and unshakable determination made him a stalwart son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, and a valued friend and colleague. We would like to thank longtime members of Team Pomper, Tanisha, Kadie and Audrey, who worked tirelessly to ensure that every day was the best it could be for Dad. Dr. Seymour Pomper will be sorely missed by the many people whose lives he touched. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Congregation B’nai Torah or Congregation Ariel. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.
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