36th Annual Newark Cemetery Visiting Day

Samuel M. Convissor (“Sam”) was a doer. Born on September 29, 1930, in Newark, New Jersey, the youngest of 4 children, raised by a single mother, graduated Central High School where he was named an All-City Basketball player and was a member of the 1947 team that won the State Title, a first for any Newark city school. He devoted his life to improving his community and the world through his professional career and numerous volunteer activities, and we are all better for it.

After his 1953 graduation from Fairleigh Dickinson he entered the US Marine Corps Platoon Leadership Program and served as a First Lt. with the Marine Air Wing. After his service in the Marine Corps ended, Sam joined the Greater Newark Development Council in 1960 and was subsequently invited by newly elected Mayor Hugh Addonizio to join his staff as Executive Assistant.

In 1964, he joined a select group of community experts created by the Community Relations Service of the U.S. Departments of Justice and Commerce to assist communities in response to the disturbances in many cities. Sam continued with the Community Relations Service as a consultant and returned to Newark. In August 1966, he joined RCA Corporation as Director of Community Relations. In 1992 Sam retired as Vice President of Corporate Affairs. He joined Mutual Benefit Life in Newark, as Vice President of Government Relations and served until 1995. In the final phase of his professional career, he was Vice President of the National Executive Service Corps, a group of retired executives providing consulting services to not-for-profit organizations

Sam was deeply involved in the non-profit and volunteer community. He served for forty years on the Board of Trustees and as Vice Chair of the Children’s Aid Society of New York City. He served as Chairman of the Board of the National Office of Social Responsibility and was an active member of various committees of the National Urban League and the United Negro College Fund. He served on the Board of Trustees of Fairleigh Dickinson University and the Board of Friends of Florham; an Organization in support of the FDU campus in Florham Park, New Jersey, where he and three other board members wrote a book on the historic campus. He is the recipient of the FDU Alumni Trustees Award and a member of the Pinnacle Society of the University.

As a long-time supporter of the South Orange Performing Arts Center, Sam helped to underwrite a series of concerts featuring students from The Juilliard School. In 2003, Sam completed the program for The Rutgers Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners Program and served on the Board of the Greater Newark Conservancy.

Sam was an integral member of Congregation Beth El in South Orange where he was an active member of the daily morning minyan and oversaw the minyan’s charitable giving, ensuring support for local, national and international organizations. He also enjoyed leading tours of Jewish Newark to young and old alike.

He was a founding member of the Jewish Historical Society and was a long-time trustee and most recently president of Beth El Memorial Park Foundation (an affiliate of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ) which maintains and preserves the approximately 60,000 graves in the old Jewish cemeteries of Newark. During Sam’s tenure as president, significant funds were secured to lift hundreds of fallen headstones; the work continues to this day.

During the pandemic Sam wrote his memoir, “Sunny Side of the Street;” his accounting of a life well-lived, full of purpose and meaning. He leaves behind a towering legacy of charity and good deeds, devoted friends and a loving family. May his memory forever be a blessing.

Building an inclusive community is a priority. Please email [email protected] to let us know if you require an accommodation to meaningfully participate in an event. One of our Federation professionals will reach out to you to learn more.