Henry Brodie Obituary

Henry (Hank) Brodie of Wellington, FL, passed away in Lake Worth, FL, on July 30, 2025, after a long life of 93 years. Born in New York City in 1931, Hank lived a life defined by dedication, resilience, and love. He was married for 71 years to the love of his life, Betty Ellner Brodie. Together they were blessed with three children (Bill, Jeff, and Susan), eight grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his beloved sister, Carol Spivak, as well as his niece and nephew, Wendy and Paul Spivak. Hank grew up during the Depression era and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1949. He went on to earn a BS in Economics with a minor in Education from the City College of New York (CCNY) in 1954, and later earned an MBA from Northeastern University in 1973. During the Korean War, Hank joined the U.S. Army, where he was selected for early induction and received training in machine accounting. He attended IBM's Customer Engineering School and was eventually stationed at Ft. George G. Meade, designing data systems for the Second Army. Following his military service, Hank began teaching eighth-grade "core" curriculum at Greenbelt High School. While he enjoyed teaching, he soon transitioned to a role at the Rand Corporation, working on the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS), where he learned to program computers. In 1959, Hank joined RCA to work on a computer to support radar detection and tracking sites around the globe. His work also supported NASA's space missions, including astronaut recovery efforts. He later served as Vice President of Corporate Computer Science at Sanders Associates. Hank was deeply involved in Jewish community life. He was a longtime board member and education committee chair at synagogues in Natick and Framingham, Massachusetts, where he also taught comparative religion to high schoolers. He later became an active member of Temple Beth Torah in Wellington, Florida. In his retirement, Hank remained active as a starter at the Polo Club golf course in Wellington. He was a founder and proud member of the Wellington Chess Club and enjoyed gardening, walking, reading, attending theater, and growing trees. He loved telling his grandchildren stories and sharing his love of chess, grocery shopping, golf, strangers, and brunch. Hank will be remembered for his liveliness, intellect, and deep commitment to family and learning. The family is grateful to the staff at Elison Independent Living of Lake Worth, where he lived during the last few years of his life. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Alzheimer's Association of Southeast Florida at https://www.alz.org/seflorida or by mailing a check to Alzheimer's Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090-6011. Donations may also be made to Koleinu, Boston's Jewish Community Chorus, at https://koleinu.org/contribute/ or by mailing a check to Koleinu, c/o Jim Winston, 125 Browne St #1, Brookline, MA 02446.