Paul Sandler, 64
SANDISFIELD, Mass. - Paul Sandler, 64, of Scottsdale, Ariz., formerly of Sandisfield, died in Arizona on Nov. 19, 2009.
Born on July 2, 1945, the son of Lena Sandler of Sandisfield and the late Jack Sandler, he attended local schools and graduated in 1963 from the former Searles High School in Great Barrington and earned his bachelor of science in communications from Boston University in 1967.
An Army veteran of the Vietnam War, he was drafted after college and graduated from Officer Candidate School. He served with the 101st Airmobile Division, Pathfinder Group, as a lieutenant in Vietnam from August 1969 to August 1970. He served with the 10th Special Forces Group for his last six months of service. He was awarded a bronze star and four Air Medals for missions performed.
Mr. Sandler was an entrepreneur, establishing a number of businesses related to telecommunications. He was president and owner of Aspen Solutions, a business conferencing service, and had been president and owner of Voice-Tel, which he founded in 1991. He was responsible for the financial development, strategic planning and implementation of voice-mail systems throughout New Mexico, Arizona and the Los Angeles area. He began with 837 subscribers in Arizona and grew to approximately 25,000 subscribers on 14 sites.
He career began in 1971 with the founding of Transceiver East Inc. in Manhattan, N.Y., with his sister Marlene Schiff. He was president and chief operating officer of Transceiver, which was an international facsimile machine network specializing in service to the transportation industry. It operated in nine Northeastern states and six eastern Canadian provinces. Mr. Sandler sold the company to a public transportation service provider, Comdata Inc., in 1989. He also co-founded Permits USA Inc. and Permits Canada Inc. He then worked as a vice president of sales for Comdata, acting as liaison and public relations officer to government offices.
From 1998 to 2002, Mr. Sandler became an investor and principal in numerous other businesses: WorldWide Express in Scottsdale, Personal Fitness Partners Inc. and Consultis of New Jersey Inc., and an information technology company. He retired in 2002, but continued to develop two properties in Aspen, Colo.
Besides his mother and sister, he leaves his wife of 38 years, Elaine; twin sons Andrew Sandler and Justin Sandler; a brother, Marvin Sandler, and two other sisters, Sharon Lewis and Felice Leiberman.
FUNERAL NOTICE — The funeral for Mr. Sandler will be conducted Sunday, Nov. 22, at 1:30 from Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home in Great Barrington by Rabbi Ari Rosenberg. Burial with military honors will follow at Sandisfield Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that those who desire make memorial donations to the Community Action Food Pantry in care of the funeral home, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Remembrances, memories and reflections may be sent to the family through www.finnertyandstevens.com.