A lifetime of service to Valley Stream schools

Colleagues remember Harris Dinkoff, 89

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Harris Dinkoff, who served on the District 13 Board of Education for 33 years, died on Dec. 31 after a brief illness. He was 89.

“Harris was one of the very few trustees I have worked with that encompassed the heart and soul of school board service,” said William Stris, the board’s current president. “We often disagreed without being disagreeable. I will miss his sharp wit and sense of humor.”

By all accounts, Dinkoff was heavily involved in the Valley Stream community. He was elected to the school board in 1970, and served concurrently on the Central High School District board beginning in 1971. He was also president of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, and was a high-ranking New York State School Boards Association official up until his death.

“He was a damn good board member, and he’s going to be sorely missed,” said Anthony Iadevaio, who served with Dinkoff on the high schools’ board. “At the high school he knew exactly what was on the agenda. He was always for the kids.”

In addition to his service to the schools, Dinkoff was a longtime member and former president of the League of Women Voters. President Nancy Rosenthal said she most admired Dinkoff’s respect for democracy. He often helped students register to vote, she recalled, and told stories of fighting for the country and the importance of voting.

“He truly wanted to see democracy work,” Rosenthal said, “and he also wanted people to be open to discussing all the possible points of view and perspectives, and to be able to do it civilly.”

In 2003, Dinkoff retired from school board service. In lieu of a gift, at his retirement party, he requested donations to District 13 for the purchase of new books. Those donations amounted to nearly $2,000.

Dinkoff moved from his home in Valley Stream to an independent living facility in Morgan Hill, Calif., in October to be closer to his two sons, Allan and Kevin.

Rosenthal spoke with him the day before he died. “I don’t think he wanted to see 2017,” she said. “I think he had concerns about the direction that the country was headed. Obviously he would’ve taken it in stride, but he felt a lot of effort for social justice and for caring for the diversity of people in this country.”

Rosenthal added that Dinkoff’s sense of humor made him a delight to work alongside. “He had a wit about him …,” she said. “Somebody would say something and he would come back with something that would just make you laugh.”

Dinkoff moved into District 13 in 1961. His three sons attended the Corona Avenue School (now the James A. Dever School), Memorial Junior High School and Central High School.

Dinkoff’s first wife, Renae Shapiro, died in 1993. He and his second wife, former District 13 Trustee Arline Strumeyer — his friend for more than 30 years — were married in 1999, after she, too, lost a spouse. Strumeyer died in 2007.

“His eyes just lit up as he talked about her, because she was the love of his life,” District 13 Trustee Frank Chiachiere said of Strumeyer.

Dinkoff is survived by his son Allan and his wife, Roseanna DeMaria; his son Kevin and his wife, Pamela Stuart, and grandchildren Benjamin and Daniel.

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