Arnold Herzlich, age 86 of Long Island, New York and The Villages, Florida, passed away on July 10, 2024 in New York. A longtime avid tennis player, Arnie retired to The Villages in 2006, and greatly enjoyed his home and lifestyle at The Villages for nearly 20 years.
Arnie was born on December 21, 1937 in Brooklyn, New York to Benjamin and Belle Herzlich, and grew up with his loving family and extended family nearby in the Brooklyn neighborhoods he loved. After graduating from Lafayette High School, he attended Brooklyn College where he earned his BS in Accounting, later going on to earn an MBA from the New York Institute of Technology. He began his career working as an accountant at a large CPA firm in Manhattan, where he met his beloved wife Deanna.
The couple, who married in 1962 and were married for 53 years until Deanna’s death in 2015, moved from Brooklyn to the suburbs of Long Island (Smithtown), New York in 1968, where Arnie began his long career with the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). During his 20 years at the Long Island Rail Road, Arnie held a number of management positions and advanced quickly, becoming Assistant Director of Internal Audits and overseeing a staff of 22. After retiring from the LIRR in 1989, he went on to serve as the Manager of Audits at both the MTA’s Capital Program Research Unit and MTA Bridges and Tunnels. He also served as the Director of Auditing and Accounting for the Campaign Finance Board in New York City in 1989, and later served as part of a five-member appointed Campaign Finance Board in Suffolk County, Long Island in the late 1990s.
With his passion for tennis, Arnie played in many competitive tennis leagues throughout his decades on Long Island, as well as competing for many years in the Long Island Senior Games. Throughout his treasured years at The Villages, he greatly enjoyed days spent playing both tennis and golf, and continued his love of learning and education by being an active participant in many adult education/university classes and discussion groups/clubs both on Long Island and in The Villages.
Arnie was a loving father to his children Ellen Linnemann (Robert), Karen Prafder (Ivan) and Jeanne Boswell (Robert), and a beloved grandfather to his six grandchildren: Andrew, Emily, Sarah, Rebecca, Robby, and Sammy. He was fortunate to have met a loving companion, Marsha Wadd of The Villages, in 2018, and the two enjoyed many happy years together filled with days playing golf, and nights listening to music and dancing in the Square.
Arnie touched the lives of all those lucky enough to have known him, and will always be remembered as a dedicated family man, a loving husband, father, grandfather and companion, a treasured friend, and a passionate tennis player. He leaves behind a wonderful legacy, and will be tremendously loved and missed forever.