in MEMORY OF BOB SPEISMAN...........if anyone has any memories of Bob, please send them to me..
Our friend Robert died on that horrible day 9/11/2001
when American Airlines flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon
we ask you to send us memories .
BOB AND WAYNE ITZKOWITZ
That's Barry Klein, Bob, Dean Lesser and Steve Sacks, and Alex Epstein in the rear..
Steve Speisman
Bob Speisman
Bob SpeismanClick on pictures to enlarge..
FOR MORE MEMORIES, CLICK ON GLOBES ABOVE.
ARTICLE ABOUT THE MEMORIAL BASKETBALL GAME OCT. 2002
.Dawn
Hi, Robby's brother Steven and I were friends in college. One day we all went to Jones beach during summer break. I went too far out into the water and Robby bravely pulled me from a dangerous undertow. I thought of him recently and thanked him again. He was a very loving spirited person with a joy for life and an unusually generous spirit. Arlene Shkolnik Marcher
.I was told about your website today and logged on to see what it was all about. As Robert's parents we were moved by everyone's love and caring for him. Please share the following information with whoever you think might be interested.
In addition to the wonderful Memorial Fund set up in his name in Irvington (where he lived), friends in the Deepdale Community have established a "Robert Speisman Basketball Scholarship Fund" at the Samuel Field Y. Anyone wishing to make a donation to this fund, as an alternative to the one set up in Irvington, can do so by mailing a check made out to Samuel Field Y with a memo clearly written on the check--Robert Speisman Basketball Scholarship Fund to the attention of:
Mrs. Nancy Amalfitano
Samuel Field YM/YMHA
58-20 Little Neck Parkway
Little Neck, N. Y. 11362
For those of you who want to reach Steven, his address is: 14783 No. 100th Way
Scottsdale, Arizona
85260
Thank you.
MESSAGE FROM BOB'S PARENTS.
Click on the yellow star to read the May 14, 2005
ARTICLE TAKEN FROM WASHINGTON POST ABOUT Bob's daughter Tara and the impact of 9/11
Hi Dawn,
I have a cute story to share about Bob. We were in the same junior high school class and since my last name was "Spielman", I always sat behind him. We actually were going "steady" in 7th and 8th grade. When I saw the picture of Temple Menorah in the background, it reminded me that he gave me his ID bracelet to wear when we were at Sunday School. It's a sweet memory and I remember him being such a nice guy. Unfortunately, I lost touch with Bobby (that's what I remember calling him in junior high) when I went to a different high school. I have been living in Chicago for the last 31 years, still married to my high school sweetheart, and have 2 children.
Sharon Spielman Gillman
Hi Dawn,
Robert was in my class in 7th and 8th grade. He used to tease me all the time, and it would drive me crazy. By the time we got to HS though, we became friends and we had Spanish classes together in 11th grade with Mrs. Moscatelli. Our class participated in the Foreign Language Carnival. We did a spoof of the Johnny Carson show and it was fabulous. We did commercials too, and Robert was in them. He was the baby in the El Exigente commerical, wearing a diaper and baby bonnet. I admired him so much for being able to do that on stage. He had so much self confidence. He also played the part of the stomach in the Alka Seltzer commercial, and his comic timing was so natural. In our class we also did a skit of Bonanza and he played Ben Cartwright, with gray hair. We visited other Spanish classes, and had a printed program, which I still have. Years later, I was reading Cashbox magazine and saw his name in there. I knew his boss, Marty Ostroff and told him I went to school with Robert. He had nothing but praise for him.
When I heard about the plane crash I was devastated, and wrote his parents a letter of these memories and more. It is so nice you have a memorial page for him.
Vicki Ray Blitenthal
Hi Dawn,I thought I would write a few words about my best friend growing up in Deepdale.Bob was extremely thoughtful to everyone I knew.He had a tremendous gift of making all around him feel special and I was very lucky to have shared this and learned so many things from him .We shared alot of great music with each other,played countless basketball games, many of which we won,and basically lived with alot of wisdom and courage in those days.I share everyones loss with his passing and still to this day it does not seem real to me.I know his wonderful family misses him greatly.I want to send my best wishes to Jack,Joyce,Steve,and Terri, you guys were my second family and I wish you all my love.
.I spoke to Bob a few months before the tragedy and we were hoping to meet in Portland,Maine to catch up on things.He had such great things to say about his daughters and his family.I could not think of another person who deserved as much happiness as he talked about.I wish I could change the course of history and would have been able to see him again after so many years.
Sincerely,
Jon Maltz
Gloria Maltz
Running Brook Stables
BOB AND MY BROTHER RAY LEWKOW WERE GOOD BUDDIES. Bob played on our softball team the Bayside BOMBErs, formed in LA in the late '70's & comprised almost entirely of ex-Baysiders, including Gordy Adler, barry Adler, Ray Lewkow, steve weiss,& Fuji Sherman. We loved Bob's good nature, his laugh & his spirit.
From: W. bloomfield Michigan
Email: cappuccinoman1@aol.com
Hello Dawn,
For many years since 911 I have thought about Bob Speisman 'Speis' with
sadness but also with very fond memories. Although I did not know Bob as an
adult I was friendly with Bob as teenagers growing up in Little
Neck/Deepdale. Fun nights of playing hoop at the 221 Night Center, going on
blind dates, taking classes together in 3 year SP at JHS 67, and hanging out
at his house. I have memories of playing '3 on 3' hoop for a championship
game with teams that included myself, George and Bill Tenent in Benjamin
Cardozo HS gym class. How ironic that George and Bob's lives would circle
back and affect each other! Most of all I recall a really fun spirited
person who always had a smile and a warm way with his friends and making
people feel accepted. I now realize having reviewed the testimonials from
friends and family that these great qualities extended to the adult Speis.
So much love expressed at his passing. A little late but my thoughts and
condolences go out to Jack, Joyce, Steve and the rest of the Speisman
family. Bob was a special guy! I have been living in Boston for over 35
years now and am married with two college age children.
Stephen Rubin
Thanks for the website!
"Although I didn't immediately notice his name on the list, one of my high school buddies, Bob Spesiman, was also a passenger on Flight 77"
Excerpt taken from George's book, page 168.
I still remember my wife telling me that our friend Preston Foy had just telephoned with the news that Bob was on the plane that went into the Pentagon.
I had served as Executive Director of the American Gem Society for 8 years and Bob was one of our Trustees. I still have fondest memories of Bob. I especially remember him taking off and playing basketball in the toughest areas of the towns that we would be visiting. Bob was fearless and a tremendouse competitor who garnered respect from everyone no matter if it was a senior executive in the jewelry industry or a street kid in the hood. He and my son would always kid each other about who would win in a one-on-one game of basketball. My son was in Middle School and High School during that time. Unfortunately, they never got to play.
Incidentally, my son is 26 and fighting in Iraq with the 101st Airborne.
God bless Bob and his family.
Thomas Dorman
I met Bob Speisman my freshman year at New Paltz. We shared the wing of a dorm that came to be know as "Basement West", a play on the name Fillmore East. The bond we forged in that dorm wing can only be compared to the experience men share when they serve side by side in a war.
I would eventually work at Cash Box magazine for my dad. He came to me one day and asked if I knew someone willing to work at Cash Box as a messenger. Without a moment's hesitation I volunteered Speisman's name. Who wouldn't? My dad, who had met Speisman a few times prior, said yes, a good idea. What no one expected when Bob showed up for his first day of work was the depth of character, the warmth, the engaging and playful personality, the writer's spirit, the explorer, the passionate music, and most of all, the charisma. I expected that. I knew him well.
Bob and I would eventually move to California together, and a year later, I would move into his house along with his roommate Gail. The stories of our misadventures in the house and the pool almost challenge Hunter Thompson's. But just as I chose NOT to tell those stories at his 40th (?) birthday party, they will remain untold today.
I talk about Speisman often. But I think about him more even more often. Today is one of those days.
Stephen Ostrow
PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU WISH TO HEAR THE WHOLE SONG:
Bob and I were roommates at New Paltz. We shared an apartment with a few others on Millrock Road. His enthusiasm was always infectious. A few of us had the same class in the Romantic Poets and spent many an evening in lively discussion. The season the Knicks beat the Celtics we were all in ecstasy.
When Bobby Cooper and I traveled out West after graduation in 1974, we met up with Bob and Steve Speisman and traveled together for a while in a 1954 Dodge Apache pickup converted into a camper. Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon were memorable destinations.
Dot Lenhart
.
Steven Baumholtz
Email address: sbaumholtz@gmail.com
sbaumholtz@gmail.comSubject: Bob Speisman
Bob SpeismanMessage: I always say that Bob was the luckiest man I ever knew. I met him at SUNY New Paltz in our freshman year, 1971. We were two doors away from each other in Gage Hall, but what bonded us was basketball. We both pretty good for earthbound teenage Jews. Bob could shoot and I liked to rebound. I stayed in touch with Bob for years after we both left school early. I was happy for his marriage and his career success. I understood that good comes to good. Bob?s great personality was linked to the positive way his life went. He literally had it all. When I heard that he had died, I couldn?t process the news. I?d never seen or heard anything tragic associated with him. He was too good for that. When I recently heard the sad news about Kobe Bryant, it brought back memories of Bob. Kobe was another great guy, blessed with good fortune. A good basketball player as well.
I always say that Bob was the luckiest man I ever knew. I met him at SUNY New Paltz in our freshman year, 1971. We were two doors away from each other in Gage Hall, but what bonded us was basketball. We both pretty good for earthbound teenage Jews. Bob could shoot and I liked to rebound. I stayed in touch with Bob for years after we both left school early. I was happy for his marriage and his career success. I understood that good comes to good. Bob?s great personality was linked to the positive way his life went. He literally had it all. When I heard that he had died, I couldn?t process the news. I?d never seen or heard anything tragic associated with him. He was too good for that. When I recently heard the sad news about Kobe Bryant, it brought back memories of Bob. Kobe was another great guy, blessed with good fortune. A good basketball player as well. 