Obituary of Irving Backinoff

IRVING BACKINOFF MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ FORMELY OF ACCORD, NY Irving Backinoff, an electrical engineer, altruist and loving family man, passed away December 15, 2005 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was 80. Irving was born of Russian-Polish immigrant parents in Accord, New York, in 1925, he grew up loving the woods and when he was 10, he and his father planted a 100-pine tree forest near the family farm. He loved sports, bridge and tinkering. He used the focus that he learned in his youth in the Army Signal Corps and Duke University to complete his degree in electrical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago in 1948. Mr. Backinoff worked his way up in several of the burgeoning electronics firms of the 50s. He also taught adult education and television repair in those years. In addition to his technical expertise in developing devices, he was known as a compassionate manager whose manufacturing and sales groups felt like a part of an extended family He co-founded Dranetz Engineering Company with Abraham Dranetz in Edison, NJ. The company received an award for Excellence from the State of New Jersey. "Built from a basement workshop, a vital technological export business employing over 400 people, contributing to the economy in a clean, efficient, ecological and waste-less fashion." Irving was a member of the Knights of Pythius, Life Associate Member of Haddassah and contributed generously to many charities. He was recognized for his contributions to vocational education through his participation on advisory boards in Union and Middlesex counties. He is survived by Shirley Marcowitz Backinoff, with whom he celebrated 57 years of marriage as he courageously lived with the challenges of Parkinsons and lung-lymphatic cancer for several years. He is also survived by his sons; Steven and his wife Karen Norton, Gary Backinoff and his wife Stephanie Sloboda, Scott Backinoff and his wife Diana Eustice, his daughter Ellen Backinoff; grandsons Blake and Brooks Backinoff, Tim and Ian Norton, and Matt Eustice; great-grandchildren Kiley and Andrew Norton; brother Bertram Backinoff; in-laws Beverly and George Engelstad, and Wanda Marcowitz; and his loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Graveside funeral services will be held today, Sunday December 18, 2005 in the Kerhonkson-Accord Jewish Cemetery, Boise Mill Rd, Accord at 2pm. .