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Adam Pomerantz - Class of 1999

Submitted by Fran Olson Gustafson 1965 <fgustafson917@gmail.com> on 29/Jan/2025
71.223.151.135

  Adam Matthew Pomerantz, 45, passed away in Newburgh, New York, on January 28, 2025. He left this world at St. Luke's Hospital, the place of his birth more than four decades earlier. He was born on August 16, 1979, to Dr. Paul Pomerantz and the late Sheila Pomerantz.

Adam grew up in Newburgh, the middle child between two sisters. He attended Gidney Avenue Memorial School and graduated high school from Newburgh Free Academy. He was a member of Temple Beth Jacob, where he became a bar mitzvah. In his adulthood, he lived in a group home in New Windsor (Stonecrest) with loving housemates and attended a day program at Campbell Hall.

Adam surprised everyone by coming into the world with an extra chromosome. This ability to surprise others and defy the odds was a theme throughout his life. With the help of patient teachers, he learned how to swim and ski downhill. He survived leukemia twice as a child and Covid as an adult. After a lifetime of Jewish education, he even surprised his family by making the sign of the cross at dinner, something he picked up from his second family at Stonecrest.

Like his grandfather, George Pomerantz, Adam was a natural performer and loved to sing. His favorites included Cat Stevens and James Taylor. A staple of Adam's youth was his Fisher-Price tape player, which rarely left his side. He knew the entire score to Les Misrables, his favorite song being "Master of the House." On Friday nights, you could often find him leading the kiddush at Temple Beth Jacob. He also loved to dance, boogying down at weddings and bar mitzvahs. One particularly memorable performance was an impromptu dance at Epcot Center's Morocco-themed restaurant with a belly dancer.

Adam loved people. He enjoyed hugs, kisses and declarations of love in many forms, including his oft-repeated "I miss ma." He had a unique way of expressing his admiration for people by sniffing their heads and offering a food designation. You knew you made it with Adam if you were given "hot dogs" or "pizza," two of his favorites.

He had a delicious sense of humor and liked to tease, usually by sneaking up behind you and poking you just under your armpit. He was fond of raising and lowering his eyebrows like Groucho Marx. Adam set unofficial records for how quickly he could slurp down a Diet Coke, how loudly he could belch, and how many times in a row he could ask "what's for supper?"

Adam will be missed.

He is survived by his father, Dr. Paul Pomerantz (Gay Miller); his sisters, Dr. Lauren Augello (Charles Augello) and Alyson Wolle-Pomerantz (Sandra Wolle-Pomerantz); and his nieces and nephews, Robert Augello, Stella Augello and Hawk Wolle-Pomerantz.

Donations in Adam's memory can be made to The Arc Greater Hudson Valley. - August 16, 1979 ~ January 27, 2025