Leonard Markowitz, chemist, aerospace engineer

Leonard Markowitz, 86, of Huntingdon Valley, a chemist and later an aerospace engineer, died Monday, Sept. 29, at the Vitas Hospice at Nazareth Hospital of complications from a recent fall.

Mr. Markowitz grew up in West Philadelphia and Wynnefield, and lived in the Philadelphia area all his life. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Temple University, where he majored in chemistry and minored in history.

Mr. Markowitz worked in various capacities with Thiokol Chemical Corp., Radio Corp. of America, and General Electric Co. He contributed to programs such as the "Star Wars" missile defense system, the International Space Station, and a number of classified projects.

He made presentations to, and worked with, the military and intelligence communities.

After retiring in 1991, he became interested in the genealogy of his and his wife's families. In 2000, the research led to the self-publication of a 424-page book, Four Jewish Families in Philadelphia.

The book includes descriptions of life in Eastern Europe during the 19th century, the voyage to America, and what Philadelphia was like when the families arrived at the turn of the 20th century.

"There are also vivid descriptions of what happened in the small European towns covered during the Holocaust," Mr. Markowitz wrote in an online synopsis. The book contains the names of over 1,200 individuals, he wrote, with the core surnames of Solotnitsky, Markowitz, Malinger, and Rosenberg.

The book has proved to be a godsend for answering questions about genealogy, said his daughter, Lynn Pechinski.

"He was very smart, but not egotistical," she said.

Mr. Markowitz had been president of Congregation Beth Chaim in Feasterville, president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Philadelphia, and vice president of Retired Executives and Professionals.

He was a founder of the Yizkor Book Special Interest Group and had been a board member of JewishGen Inc., an Internet news group. He had also been a board member of the Township Library of Lower Southampton and the Jewish Community Council of Lower Bucks County. He also was a member of the World Affairs Council's Middle East Forum.

Pechinski said her father did not talk much about his values, but mirrored them in his actions. "He was very old-fashioned, with a high code of ethics," she said.

Mr. Markowitz was married to Sonya Rosenberg, who died in 2007.

Besides his daughter, he is survived by a son, Larry.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, at Goldsteins' Rosenberg's Raphael Sacks Suburban North, 310 Second Street Pike, Southampton. Interment is in Montefiore Cemetery.