Murray Seeman dead; former Great Neck Estates mayor was 103

Former Great Neck Estates Mayor Murray Seeman, who “lived every inch out of life” and maintained the vitality to keep working full time until age 95, has died, his family said.

Seeman died Saturday of natural causes at his home in Great Neck Estates, where he had lived for more than 60 years, his family said. He was 103.

Seeman attributed his long, healthy life to keeping busy, playing tennis and traveling around the globe with his wife, his family said.

“To me, he wasn’t 103,” said his wife, Lee Seeman, 89, a North Hempstead Town Councilwoman running for re-election. “I thought of him as a younger man always because of his great energy.”

Born to Dora and Benjamin Seeman on July 7, 1914, Seeman grew up in Ridgewood, Queens, with two sisters and graduated from Boys’ High School in Brooklyn. In 1934, he graduated from Brooklyn College, where he was class president and voted “most likely to succeed.”

During the Great Depression, Seeman worked two jobs to put himself through Columbia law school, from which he graduated in 1937, his family said.

Seeman entered the Army in 1942, serving in Morocco, Italy and France during World War II, his family said.

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After the war, Seeman returned to working at his private law firm in Great Neck.

Seeman met his wife at a Vermont hotel in 1953 and they married later that year. The couple lived in Bayside, Queens, before moving into the Great Neck Estates house Seeman helped build in 1955.

Seeman joined the Great Neck Estates Civic Association and went on to serve eight years as village trustee and eight years as mayor. He unsuccessfully ran for Third District Court Judge in North Hempstead in 1978 and was appointed to the New York State Commission on Public Employees’ Retirement System in 1982.

For 40 years, Seeman also worked as a real estate developer with former Lake Success Mayor Reuben Kershaw, his wife said.

Seeman also co-founded the North Shore Archaeological Society and wrote articles for Temple Beth-El of Great Neck.

“In those 100 years, he got a lot done,” his daughter Michelle Rothbort said.

His son, Scott Seeman, of Port Washington said “it was incredible to be around” his father, who “was larger than life.”

Along with his wife and son, Seeman is also survived by daughters Roxanne Seeman of Los Angeles, and Michelle Rothbort and Janine Buss, both of Port Washington.

A funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Temple Beth-El. Seeman will be buried at Wellwood Cemetery in Farmingdale.

By Rachelle Blidner

rachelle.blidner@newsday.com@rachelleblidner

Rachelle Blidner covers Suffolk County government, politics and breaking news.