Alan Meyer Fortunoff, 67, of Old Westbury, died on Monday, July 5, 2000 at dusk in his home from complications of cancer. He was one of the region's most prominent business executives. He was one of 3 children to the late Max Markus and Clara (nee Wichner) Fortunoff, growing up in the bustling immigrant communities of Brooklyn's East New York section in the 1930's. At an early age, Alan and his siblings swept the floors, worked at the cash register and helped customers in their parents' small houseware store on Livonia Avenue in Brownsville, which was established by his parents since 1922. He attended NYU in the 1950s, earning degrees in business and law. In a real estate class, Alan met his future wife, who was a business major from Paterson. He intended to work as an attorney but only practiced for one year before returning to the family's stores in Brooklyn. Alan rose through the ranks to become CEO of the eight-store company. The store had a huge following but he decided to move along with many of his customers to the suburbs in 1964. He persisted 20 years to ensure the continued success of the flagship store in Westbury by constructing an adjacent shopping mall. Once after The Mall at The Source opened in 1997, it faced hurdles including developers and retailers backing out at the eleventh hour and community opposition. Before the mall was accepted to be built, Alan secured many of the tenants and won over skeptical neighbors with 2 years of kaffeeklatsches and speeches to civic groups. He also added more branches at New Jersey malls and a location on Manhattan's posh 5th Avenue. The private company had sales of $390m in 1998 and about 2500 employees. The store on Long Island had been a shopping destination for decades. Hundreds of people lined up in the predawn hours on the day after Thanksgiving waiting for the doors to open to snap up Christmas ornaments and kick off their holiday shopping. For many brides, registering at Fortunoff was a given. Fortunoff offered housewares, silver, dishes, flatware and jewelry. In the mid-1970's, Alan ventured back to the city opening a jewelry and silver store on East 57th Street. In 1979, it moved into 681 5th Avenue, a building owned by the family. Five of his six children are involved in the family business. His wife helped oversee the jewelry department, which she established in 1957. He was an intense person who worked tirelessly to achieve his goals. Alan was a gentleman through and through recognized by people as a sincere person in what he was trying to do. He was a tough businessman, a hard negotiator and a demanding boss but nobody was more generous or concerned about the community. Alan gave to many area causes including schools, charities, hospitals and also contributed to the Republican Party, but the donations were almost always anonymous. He took up philosophy in his 60s. Alan was a voracious learner who read a book at night and went back to school in the 1970's for an advanced degree in international law although he knew he would never practice it. Beloved husband of Helene (nee Finke) Fortunoff for 47 years. Devoted father of Esther, Rhonda, Ruth, Andrea, Louis Westbrook and David Fortunoff. A memorial service was officiated on Tuesday, July 6, 2000 at 1 PM in the Temple Sinai, 425 Roslyn Road, Roslyn Heights, NY 11577. Interment followed at Mount Ararat Cemetery in East Farmingdale. Donations in his memory may be sent to the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University c/o Sterling Memorial Library, P.O. Box 208240, New Haven, CT 06520-8240 or the Cancer Research Institute, 681 5th Avenue, Midtown Center, NY 10022.