News

By Rich Pollack

HIGHLAND BEACH —Ed Neidich loved to make people laugh.
    A big man at 6 feet, 4 inches tall with a big heart, Mr. Neidich didn’t miss the chance to good-naturedly tease community leaders, whether he was speaking at a Highland Beach Town Commission meeting or serving on the board of his Braemer Isle condominium association.
    “Even when I was mad at him, he could still make me laugh,” said Joan Cox, Mr. Neidich’s fiancée. “He always made me laugh.”
    Mr. Neidich was joking with town leaders at a commission meeting in late September, just two days before he died on Sept. 29 of a heart attack. He was 64.
    “I was in shock,” said Highland Beach Commissioner Carl Feldman, a close friend.  “Everyone was in a state of shock — and denial. We couldn’t believe it. We thought this can’t be true, we had just seen him two days before.”
    A resident of Highland Beach for three years, Mr. Neidich grew up on Long Island and never shed his New York accent.
    A graduate of Hofstra Law School in Hempstead, N.Y., Mr. Neidich worked as a prosecutor for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. He was later appointed as public safety commissioner for the town of North Hempstead, a position he held for eight years.
    His interest in governance led him to become involved in his condominium association and in the town, resulting in his appointment to the town’s Board of Adjustment and Appeals.
    Mr. Neidich was always happy to offer legal advice to the town and to tap into his legal background when offering suggestions to commissioners.
    “Whenever a problem came up in town, he would always give us both sides,” Feldman said. “He was always impartial.”
    Mr. Neidich had expressed an interest in running for Town Commission in the upcoming March municipal elections.
    “He was a true town activist,” Feldman said.
    A lover of jazz — and good food — Mr. Neidich often visited the Arts Garage in Delray Beach and was a regular at a few local restaurants.
    “He loved ice cream,” said Cox, whom Mr. Neidich planned to marry before the end of the year.  
    He also loved people.
    “He was very friendly,” she said. “He would talk to anyone. Whenever Ed visited anywhere, people always remembered him.”
    In addition to Cox, Mr. Neidich is survived by an aunt and five cousins, all from New York.
    A graveside service was held for Mr. Neidich in Farmingdale, N.Y., early last month and later, a memorial service was held for friends and neighbors at the Braemer Isle condominium.
    “Ed always had a smile,” Feldman said. “He was such a great guy.”