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Barry Feiden - Class of 1942

Submitted by Fran Olson Gustafson 1965 <fgustafson917@gmail.com> on 24/Oct/2016
97.117.186.5

      Barry Feiden of White Plains, New York, passed away on October 18, 2016, at the age of 92. Far too soon for his beloved wife of 67 years, Barbara Cole Feiden, and his devoted children, Douglas Michael Feiden (Lucette Lagnado); Karyn Lynn Feiden (David Elsasser) and Wayne Mitchel Feiden (Denise Green), and for his granddaughter, Lisa Hai Feiden, whose photo graces his wallet, his desk and his workbench. Born in New York City on July 5, 1924, Barry spent his childhood in Newburgh, New York, and had the highest regard for small-town America as a result. He earned a BS at the progressive School for Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, where he met Barbara, for whom he would walk up the steepest hills in Ithaca. He later earned an MS in Vocational Counseling from New York University. A dedicated member of the Greatest Generation, Barry served in combat with the 104th Infantry (Timberwolf Division) in World War II. Long reticent to speak much about his experiences, he consented to an oral history interview in recent years that can be seen on YouTube (type Barry Feiden into the YouTube site). The emotional power of the video is awe-inspiring. Ardent about the dignity of work, Barry spent his career in personnel and labor relations, holding executive positions at Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Ronson in Stroudsbourg, Pa.; and Paper Novelty in Stamford, Conn. One of his points of professional pride was that in negotiating union contracts, he always found compromises that did not require laying off workers. In a bold mid-career switch in the mid-1970s, he bought a publishing house, Emerson Books, and became a New York book publisher. In more recent years, he served as a labor arbitrator, hearing cases until shortly before his death. Long before it could easily be done, Barry and Barbara traveled the world, from Kenya to Thailand, Peru to the Galapagos, often in the company of his treasured brother and sister-in-law, Elliott and Elaine Feiden. Most recently, he was following the twists and turns of the presidential election, insisting every evening on finding out how Donald Trump had disgraced himself. Besides politics, Barry's life-long passion was gardening and the outdoors, and any day he could wander and weed his yard, and consider precisely where the latest Japanese maple sapling should be planted, was a good day. The love story of Barry and Barbara gives new meaning to the phrase "a good marriage," and his eyes also lit up in the presence of his children. Barry lost his brother, Elliott, four years ago, but never the special place he held for him in his heart. Favored sister-in-law, Elaine, nephews and nieces Cynthia, Peter, and Lucy, and their very special spouses, and niece Linda Ettinger Puls also recall Barry with great love. A lifelong environmentalist, Barry abhorred waste and donations to environmental causes will be appreciated by his family. Funeral services are private.

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