Robert Braunschweig
Robert Braunschweig, 82, a longtime resident of Shelter Island, passed away on March 28, 2012, in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Born in Astoria, New York, to Dory and Julius Braunschweig, Robert was educated in the metropolitan area, first attending New York University before graduating at an usually young age from Boston University’s School of Law. He went to work at the Manhattan law firm of Wachtell, Manheim & Grouf, where he rose to senior partner.
It was at WM&G that he spent the lion’s share of his successful legal career, although he also practiced in a small partnership based in lower Manhattan just before full retirement.
In addition to his career as a trial attorney, Robert served at the personal request of a friend and former client as president of the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation for many years, a non-profit organization that supports deserving artists and writers.
Robert and his wife, Willi, first fell in love with Shelter Island in the late 1950s, moving into their first home here shortly thereafter. Robert was a man of talent and keen intellect who, when not toiling at the law, pursued diverse interests both intellectual and utterly playful. An avid, skilled poker player, he was a charter member of a weekly group that included other Shelter Island notables such as his good friends Dr. Aaron Kellner and Harold Schonberg.
Robert had a lifelong fascination for horse racing and was the erstwhile designer of a handicapping system. A highly accomplished pianist, Robert’s playing often helped to fill the house with music. His excellent sight reading skills provided accompaniment for singers, both family and friends, and he had a special touch playing the ragtime of Scott Joplin that helped enliven many a social occasion at Counterpoint, the family’s home on Hilo Drive for 40 years.
After Willi’s sudden passing in 2004, Robert continued to live on Shelter Island until 2008, when advancing age and a desire to be closer to family led him out West, where all three of his children were living, two in California and one in Oregon. Until very recently, Robert was living independently in the town of Lake Oswego, where his son, Julius, is raising two young children.
In many ways, Robert would always remain the quintessential New Yorker: Not a day went by without a thorough perusal of the New York Times or a baseball season without a muttered “Wait’ll next year” about his beloved yet beleaguered Mets. Memories of his long and colorful marriage to the effervescent Willi and endless summer evenings on Shelter Island were frequent topics of conversation. However, surely the chief joy of his last years was living close to his young grandchildren and witnessing them embark upon their own respective journeys through life.
Robert Braunschweig is survived by his three children, Julius, Diana and Marc, and two grandchildren, Leo and Scarlett. He was predeceased by his wife, Willi Kirkham Braunschweig, and younger brother, Richard.
No services are planned at this time. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Robert’s name be made to the Perlman Music Program at perlmanmusicprogram.org.
