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Bernice and Abie Siegel at their Patchogue home in 2011.

Bernice and Abie Siegel at their Patchogue home in 2011. Credit: John Dunn

Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri recalls walking in the village shortly after he was elected mayor in 2004 and spotting Abie Siegel on the sidewalk in front of his shop, Blum's Swimwear and Intimate Apparel.

“All he said to me is, ‘OK, you won. Now do something,’ ” Pontieri said. “He constantly challenged you to do something.”

Those words inspired Pontieri. “It always stayed with me that you don't let the Abe Siegels of the world down,” he said, crediting Siegel’s involvement with the village for helping revitalize Patchogue’s downtown.

Siegel, the longtime owner of Blum's — started by his wife’s family 96 years ago — died June 20 of pancreatic cancer. He was 93.

Siegel was born May 23, 1930, in Patchogue Hospital and raised on West Main Street. As teenagers, Siegel and his brother, Sam, worked in their father’s bakery.

He met his future wife, Bernice Blum, in the halls of what was then Patchogue High School.

“My mother invited him to a birthday party,” said his son, Marc Siegel, the co-owner of Blum’s. “They were together since they were 16.”

The two graduated together and Siegel began commuting to New York University.

“He would take the train every day and come back with a train, and then go to work in the bakery at night,” Marc Siegel recalled.

His time at NYU came to an end prematurely due to illness. Siegel’s next plan was to go to Philadelphia to become a scientist. But he had some time to kill before he was set to move in 1952. Arthur Blum, his then-girlfriend’s father, asked Siegel to spend the holiday season wrapping gift purchases at Blum’s South Ocean Avenue location.

He enjoyed working in the shop so much that he never made it to Philadelphia. Siegel worked at Blum’s until about 2015, when he handed over the reins to Marc and his business partner, Cherie Alleyne.

One of the reasons Siegel stuck around early on was because he had a good boss.

“He loved my grandfather,” Marc Siegel said. “Mr. Blum would do anything for him.”

The Blums opened their business in 1927 as Blum’s Corset Shop. Siegel worked through store consolidations, location moves, a shift to focus on swimwear and the transformation of Patchogue's downtown into a vibrant  destination for shopping, dining and entertainment.

“The business started booming when we moved into this building,” Marc Siegel said. “We went through ups and downs with business.”

Even in retirement, Siegel was still drawn to Blum’s, working occasionally in the store putting in orders and taking care of other business, his son said.

Siegel was big on family, and it was apparent in his shop. One of Marc’s favorite memories at Blum’s was when he and his father were bickering behind the front register. His cousin, another store employee, came in and spotted them.

“She said, ‘If you guys don't stop arguing, I'm not gonna work here,’ ” Marc Siegel said. “So, we stopped arguing and she came to work for 10 years before she died at 43.”

Siegel was a fixture at town meetings and a founding member of Patchogue’s Business Improvement District — which locals credit for revitalizing downtown — and helped launch the village’s security program.

“They started it where the guys would walk around with sticks [and] uniforms on,” Marc Siegel said.

He was also a member of the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce board of directors, the Patchogue Lions Club and the Babylon Fishing Club.

Siegel’s love of fishing began decades ago. He started casting lines off the beach and built his own rowboat in his 20s before upgrading to motorized engines. He traveled all over with his wife to deep-sea fish, spending many winters in Hawaii.

Siegel is survived by his wife and son.

A new style of bowling, the Agostino family tradition on the hardwood and the wrestling championships in Nassau and Suffolk in the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off." Credit: Newsday/Mario Gonzalez; Jonathan Singh, James Tamburino

SARRA SOUNDS OFF: A new style of bowling that works  A new style of bowling, the Agostino family tradition on the hardwood and the wrestling championships in Nassau and Suffolk in the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off."

A new style of bowling, the Agostino family tradition on the hardwood and the wrestling championships in Nassau and Suffolk in the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off." Credit: Newsday/Mario Gonzalez; Jonathan Singh, James Tamburino

SARRA SOUNDS OFF: A new style of bowling that works  A new style of bowling, the Agostino family tradition on the hardwood and the wrestling championships in Nassau and Suffolk in the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off."

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