Obituary of Michael Portnoy

Michael Portnoy, 78, of Monroe Twp., NJ, passed away at home on March 20, 2017. Funeral service will be held at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Boulevard, Watchung, NJ on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at 11:30 am. Interment will follow at Mount Lebanon Cemetery, Iselin, NJ. Mike was born in Brooklyn, NY to David and Molly Portnoy on August 5, 1938. He went to Lafayette High School in Brooklyn. He went on to earn a Bachelors of Business Administration from Pace College in Manhattan, NY. He worked as corporate tax accountant spending the majority of his career at Equitable Life Assurance, now AXA, retiring as an Assistant Vice President in the Tax Department. A lifelong NY Yankees fan, he enjoyed watching and attending games with his family. A member of Temple Sholom in Scotch Plains for 43 years, he served on the Board of Trustees and many committees over the years, volunteering his time with Habitat for Humanity and other organizations. Mike loved his crossword puzzles (the harder the better, especially on Sundays!) and you never wanted to play against him in Trivial Pursuit or Scrabble. An avid runner, Mike finished his first NYC Marathon at age 55. He went on to finish two more NYC Marathons as well as many other local races. Mike is survived by his wife of 50 years Marion Kadushin Portnoy, his daughter Cheryl Polios and her husband Philip, his son Marc Portnoy and his wife Debbie; grandchildren David and Jennifer Polios, Justin and Aidan Portnoy. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Plainfield and Middlesex County, or the Temple Sholom Mortgage Retirement Fund.