Alexander Ostroff: 12/28/1913-1/20/2005
Family: Alexander Ostroff was married to Bella and had two children Elaine and Marilyn
Alexander Ostroff was born in Philadelphia and lived there most of his life. He was a hard working man who was devoted to his family and often held down multiple jobs to make ends meet. When he was first married to Bella, he would work in his parents' store, drive a taxi, and work his full time job in the post office. His first thought was always to take care of Bella, the children, and later his grandchildren.
When any of the children or grandchildren were having a rough time, they could always find refuge with Al and Bella. He would never scold any of them. No matter what the children did, he would always conclude that he should let the children find their own way. He accepted without hesitation their boyfriends and girlfriends and later their spouses (as long as they did not interfere with his way of doing things).
He had several hobbies, and in particular excelled at bowling. He also was "Mr. Fixit." It was heresy to him to throw anything away, no matter how old, how necessary or how broken. Objects wrapped in duct tape, masking tape, scotch tape and/or string filled the house.
In the mid 90's, he and Bella moved from Philadelphia to Durham to be near their daughter Elaine. The plan was always that Elaine would one day help take care of them as they grew older. When Elaine tragically developed an incurable cancer and passed away in 1998, Al, in typical fashion, kept on going and never complained. He always said, "What will be, will be".
At the end of his life, he did know that he was dying, and on a number of occasions declared that he would not be around the next morning. But in Al's typical fashion, he was not going to pass away if he had any left over tasks. One day he was predicting his impending passing, but then changed his mind when he realized that the taxes were not yet completed. No way would he let the angel of death take him, at least not until he had taken care of business.
He passed away in 2005 at 91. He and Bella had been married almost 60 years.