Engineer Martin Liebman of Melville dies

Martin Liebman's fascination with technology that would eventually lead him to help put a man on the moon started early.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Liebman discovered his love for engineering while a student at Brooklyn Technical High School.

Liebman, 81, a Melville resident, died Jan. 31 from a rare form of aggressive brain cancer at the Hospice Inn in Melville.

He attended the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, graduating in 1951 with a marine engineering degree. After graduation, he entered the Navy where he became a lieutenant. After his military stint, Liebman became an aeronautical engineer, culminating in a 33-year career at Grumman Aerospace Corporation. "He was, of course, very technically adept," said his brother-in-law Leonard Wiener.

After Liebman's graduation from the Merchant Marine Academy, he met and married Frances Wiener, on June 16, 1951. The couple met by an arrangement through both of their older brothers, she said. They had two children that they raised in their Melville home.

Before his time at Grumman, Liebman worked at two helicopter firms, one named Vertol in Philadelphia and the other Sikorsky in Bridgeport. He worked for the Grumman corporation from 1957 until his retirement in 1992.

At Grumman, Liebman did design work on the fuel system for the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), which was used during a landing on the moon. In addition to the lunar module, he helped design other aircraft, such as the Navy Hawkeye aircraft carrier.

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His father died when he was young, which had a big impact on his work ethic. Seeing his mother struggling to take care of her three children prompted him to find work anywhere to help support the family.

"He did everything to help his mother," Frances Wiener said.

When Liebman retired in 1992, he and his wife took many trips to Europe. But even in retirement, Liebman gravitated toward learning about the computer and Internet. "He would always send jokes, " Leonard Wiener said.

The burial was on Feb. 3 at Beth Israel Cemetery in Woodbridge, N.J. In addition to his wife, Liebman is survived by his sister, Renny Kelly from Los Angeles, CA; a son, Howard Liebman, of Brussels, Belgium; and a daughter Leslie Liebman-Bernfeld from Melville, as well as three grandchildren.