Ira Zaslow was born on February 28th, 1946 to Trudy and Herman Zaslavsky (soon changed to Zaslow) of the East Bronx. Ira grew up on the neighborhood streets playing stick ball. At age 11, the Zaslows moved from their East Bronx neighborhood to Elmhurst Queens. Ira was kind of lonely but quickly made a nice group of friends through his athleticisim. He found acceptance in the neighborhood through sports. Accepting challenges on the basketball court was how he found comfort in his new neighborhood. One of Ira's first friends in Queens was Neil Goodman who remained both a close and lifelong friend.

The teenage Ira attended Newtown High School in Elmhurst where he was an average student with a high IQ. He always had a job to make spending money. Ira had a younger brother Doug with whom he spent a lot of time with growing up.

Ira attended college at Brooklyn Poly Technical Institute in downtown Brooklyn. He enjoyedsome computer courses and got turned onto Computers and Systems Science. Here is where Ira met his friend Lew Kimmel. At 19, Ira (not knowingly) met his wife to be Felice while he dated two of her friends and his cousin dated Felice (summer of 1965). After that summer, Ira and Felice did not see each other except in passing on the beaches of Rockaway and at Alexanders Department Store in Rego Park, Queens.

Ira and Felice met up again for their final chance meeting in March of 1969 at a Tempo Dance in Queens New York. Ira, 23 years old and Felice who was turning 20 found their lives were just beginning. Felice saw this man looking at her from across the room and something clicked.... "It was like a dream". She walked up to him and asked, "Do you have a cousin named David Ladimer?" and the rest is history. Ira called Felice later that night to make plans. That was Friday, their first date was Sunday, March 21st, the first day of spring.

Ira was quiet, soleful and always a gentleman (a very deep person). His favorite poem was "If" by Rudyard Kipling. Interesting, "If" was Felice's favorite poem at that time.

Ira enjoyed his liquor as a young man. He always had a good drink. He loved Bob Dylan and the Beetles. He was an avid skiier, basketball player and an accomplished athlete throughout all of his childhood and college years. He was finally introduced to Paddleball and, as an adult played each and every weekend year round.

Ira loved the outdoors. He embraced taking care of his lawn and garden that yielded tomatoes and cucumbers each summer during the children's early years. Ira used to say to Felice that his career aptitude test said he would make a good Forest Ranger.

After college graduation Ira continued at Brooklyn Poly Tech as a graduate student on fellowship. With the extra money from his fellowship Ira bought himself his first car, a 1967 fast back Mustang in white. Ira did his Masters in Systems Science and was involved in the computer field in the early years immediately after it's inception. On September 16, 1969 Ira proposed to his beloved Felice and on that same day had his other love, his 67 fastback Mustang stolen from him (coincidence?). Felice and Ira never looked back for the Mustang and bought a yellow Cutlass when they married. On April 12, 1970 the first perfect day of Spring, the sun shined brightly through the staind glass windows of the West Hempstead Jewish Center Chapel.

Ira valued family above all but he wanted to be happy with his work and he was for many years at Mobil Oil Corproation. He was employed there for twenty years until it was time to move onto he new career with Lehman Brothers. Ira spent a little over ten years at Lehman Brothers until he was taken from us while working in Tower 1 on the 38th Floor. Ira enjoyed the challenge of his work at Lehman Brothers.

For 5 years before their eldest son Bryan was born Ira and Felice had a ski house in Vermont and throughout Bryan's and Adam's childhood the family spent each winter skiing the slopes of Killington Vermont.

He loved his babies and loved listening to Felice tell stories about his boys days while he was on the other end of the phone at work. Bryan was the first to arrive in 1975 after Ira and Felice moved into their home in North Woodmere, NY (Long Island) on Flanders Drive.

Ira loved everyone around him. He did not see color, ethnicity or race, he only saw people and he was a friend to everyone he had involvement with. He was interested in helping whoever he could and was willing to go to great lengths for a friend.

Ira and Felice were young when they married but they grew up together and enjoyed a happy and healthy marriage.

Star Trek was a favorite show of Ira's. He and Bryan often sat in front of the television singing the theme song with each other, "Space, the final fromtier, these are the voyagers of the Starship Enterprise, whose continuing mission..."

As a small child, Bryan spent many a night in Ira's arms watching Star Trek until they fell asleep.

Ira coached his boys in many sports and was always there to root on his sons in everything they did.

My father, Ira Zaslow lived well and although he didn't live as long as we would have hoped to have him, he left behind a legacy of love and hope which now continues on through both of his children in the Ira Zaslow Foundation and in their lives. Ira's oldest son (Bryan Zaslow) and Senior Director of the Ira Zaslow Foundation is also the founder and President/CEO of JBCStyle (http://www.jbcstyle.com/) a leading recruiter in the fashion, beauty and action sports industries.