Obituary of Howard B. Eskin

No Ordinary Life Renaissance Man, avid Bird Photographer, self-proclaimed curmudgeon and raconteur, Howard B. Eskin, 82, died peacefully at home in the early morning hours of Friday, February 24, 2017. Born in New York City on December 26, 1934 to Samuel and Bernice (Fleischer) Eskin, he spent his formative years on the shores of Long Island (Jones Beach) and attended schools in Freeport and Baldwin. Howard studied History, Mathematics and Engineering at the University of Rochester, and then continued his studies in Business, Education and Ornithology at Cornell and Princeton. Serving in the US Army as a language instructor in Kaiserslautern, Germany, he met the "most beautiful girl" he had ever seen, Rosemarie, before he was honorably discharged in 1958. He had a distinguished career in industry and business. Highlights include: working as an engineer on Hamilton Standard design team that built life support systems for NASA, working for Wall Street's F.I. DuPont as a Limited Partner and then joining Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) in 1975. During his tenure with ADP, he was a GM and Division VP and his many recognitions included receiving the President's Club award more than 25 times. He was a leader in developing innovative solutions for improving client service and was excellent at selecting and developing leaders for the company, many of whom attained senior level positions. Howard was an outstanding fly fisherman and fly tier, with photos of his flies published in several books including Brook Trout by Nick Karas. Fly-fishing and fly-tying were passions he shared with his son Steven, son-in-law Robert, and many others with whom he shared his time, equipment, flies, and teaching. Howard's passion for fly-fishing allowed him to visit some of the world's most pristine landscapes including New Zealand and Russia. These vistas would prove to be the muse for Howard's love of photography. There wasn't a place Howard would go that he didn't have a camera in hand. The "designated photographer" at every event, he was extremely generous, offering photos, posters, CDs and access to his website to literally everyone he met. Recently, he started mentoring his daughter, Evi, in her pursuit of photography. Howard's engagement with all photography grew into a passion for bird photography. He shared this passion with his grandson, Sam, who he took numerous times birding and was teaching how to spot and identify birds. An award-winning photographer, his photographs can be seen on almost every bird website and in numerous magazines and books. Besides photographing birds, he worked closely with conservationists to help monitor and band protected raptors. Having a love of the Arts, he was instrumental in recognizing and promoting the talents of a young painter, Joseph Reboli (1945-2004). The Reboli Center will be showing Howard's photographs in August 2017. While supporting his daughter, Lisa, with her participation in theater, Howard, himself, went on stage playing a King, a Priest and a songster in a holiday revue show. A prolific writer and wordsmith, Howard wrote poems and illustrated them with his photographs. In 2004, Lisa wrote and directed a play, Winter Solstice, based on his poetry and photography which was performed to sold-out audiences and received Philadelphia Inquirer's Best Bets. An authority on Dalton pottery, mushrooms, and many other things, he read voraciously on any topic of interest until he became an expert. Well-loved and respected, many would readily seek his advice and he was only too happy to give it. He loved to tell a good story, or a bad joke, and was never shy about offering his opinion. He could fill a room with talk and laughter, or focus silently while working on his computer. Howard is survived by his soul mate and loving wife of 59 years, Rosemarie D. (Weber) Eskin; his three children: Evamaria U. Eskin (Robert G. Hess, Jr.) , Steven J. Eskin (Susan (Estes) Eskin), and Lisa Y. Eskin and the apple of his eye, his grandson, Samuel L. Eskin. He is also survived by his sister, Rona (Eskin) Shays, his uncle, Alan Fleischer, his nephew, Douglas J. Ripkin, and two nieces, Sharon M. Ripkin and Christina (Weber) Gurlin. Howard was also cherished and admired by many other family members and friends who will truly miss his endearing presence. Howard did not want a funeral and requested that his ashes be brought to Hidden Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana. A Celebration of Life is scheduled on Sunday, May 21, 2017 at 1 PM at Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve, 1635 River Road, New Hope, PA with a reception immediately following. The family requests Howard Stories (historical, funny, poignant); stories may be sent directly to the family or through the Moore, Snear & Ruggiero Funeral Home, 224 W. Main Street, Trappe, PA 19426. Photographs are welcome. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Howard's name to either the Reboli Center www.rebolicenter.org or the Audubon Society PA www.pa.audubon.org.