Obituary of Milton Sack

Milton Sack, a retired professor of chemistry at Onondaga Community College, died on Oct. 30 at the age of 101. He had lived in Fayetteville since 1996, and in the Syracuse area since 1952. 

   He was born on Aug. 28, 1917, in New York City, the only surviving child of Abram and Sheindel (Shore) Sack. He was proud to have graduated from Townsend Harris High School in 1933 and City College of New York in 1937. He received a master's in chemistry from New York University in 1941 and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Johns Hopkins University in 1950.

    During World War II, he worked as a chemist for the U.S. Army at Edgewood Arsenal in Baltimore. He lived in the Baltimore area from 1942 to 1952.

    He and his young family then moved to Syracuse, where he was a research chemist at Solvay Process from 1952 to 1969. 

    He joined Onondaga Community College in 1970 and retired in 1989, serving as chair of the Department of Chemistry for part of that time. In the words of one of his former students, "I never encountered a professor more committed to teaching, or who taught with more energy." 

    Active in the Syracuse section of the American Chemical Society, he served first as editor of its magazine and then, in 1965, as president. Also a music lover, he was active in the Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music from 1955 until his death, serving on the board for many years and as president. With his wife, he received the organization's Louis Krasner award. He was also involved in the Society for New Music. In addition, he was a devoted player of bridge and Go.

    He was predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Lucille P. Sack, who died in 2007. 

    He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Jean Gold and Kenneth Kaplan of Reston, Va.; his son and daughter-in-law, Allen Sack and Heleen Adam of Brooklyn, N.Y.; three grandchildren, Emily Boutilier, Rebekka Gold and David Sack; grandson-in-law Robert Boutilier; great-granddaughter Samantha Boutilier; and many friends, including the Mitchell-Ferro-Rorhlich family, who were a second family to him in Syracuse, as well as Kim Simmons.

    Donations may be made in his memory to the Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music, the Society for New Music or the American Civil Liberties Union. 

      Details will be forthcoming on a memorial service to be held in Syracuse in the spring.