Seymour Nathan "Nate" Salvay

Seymour Nathan (“Nate”) Salvay, 93, of Mission Hills, KS, passed away July 20, 2009 at Menorah Medical Center, Overland Park, KS. Funeral services will be held in the Katz Chapel at Congregation Beth Shalom, 9400 Wornall Rd, Kansas City, MO at 2:30 pm Wednesday, July 22, followed by burial at Rose Hill Cemetery, 69th and Troost, Kansas City, MO. Kindly omit flowers; the family suggests contributions to Congregation Beth Shalom, Village Shalom or the charity of one’s choice. Nathan was born March 11, 1916 in Kansas City, MO to Israel David Salvay (born Soloveichik in Veisiejai, Lithuania) and Anna Salvay (born Brudner [Kiansky] in Starodub, Russia). In his youth, Nathan was an avid ham radio operator (W9KTC) spending many happy hours at his radio set in his parents’ home on Bellefontaine; he graduated Central High School (Kansas City) in 1932. Seeing a Curtis “pusher” fly overhead while on his father’s shoulders at age 3, he was smitten with a desire to fly; he soloed in an OX5 bi-plane in 1937; his first passengers were his parents. He taught flying throughout the late ‘30s and early ‘40s, including aerobatics. During the depths of the Depression, he worked for Burstein-Applebee Electronics, selling throughout Kansas. Prior to WWII, Nathan continued his education, earning an Aeronautical Engineering degree in 1940 from Curtis Wright Technical Institute, Los Angeles, CA. Just prior to WWII, he earned his commercial pilot’s license in Logan, UT. Just after the onset of World War II, Nathan was a civilian flight instructor for the Army Air Corps (now, US Air Force) in Coffeyville, KS; he was invited to dinner at the home of Elias Krigel whose daughter, Rose, suggested that Nathan call her cousin, Geraldine, when he was next in Kansas City. Nathan did just that, and Gerry and Nate were married in January 1946. In 1943, Nathan enlisted in the Army Air Corps and flew “the Hump” (over the Himalaya Mountains) in the China-Burma-India theatre, where he served as Second Lieutenant and Pilot-in-Command of C47 cargo planes ferrying supplies to the Chinese. Nathan returned to Kansas City to find that his brother, Gene, had built a tiny, single-seat airplane, the “Skyhopper,” in the basement of their parents’ home; he piloted it cross-country and delivered it to Gene in Los Angeles while his bride, Gerry, followed along his route by train. After his discharge from the service, he and Gerry started The Salvay Flying Service at Richards-Gebaur Airport in Grandview, MO; they used their two small planes for flight instruction and charter. He was an engineer briefly for Black & Veatch. In 1950, he joined Milgram Food Stores, from which he retired in 1984 as Vice President of the Non-Foods Division. After his retirement, Nathan worked several years as a market researcher and consultant to the supermarket industry. Nathan’s life focused on his family and his cherished friends. In his later years, Nathan (aka “Mr. Seymour”) regularly frequented area food stores and restaurants where he was known for his ready smile and patient ear and his parting greeting, “Be well.” His kindness, compassion, and wise advice will be long remembered.
Mr. Salvay was preceded in death by his parents and by his beloved son, Steven Howard Salvay. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Geraldine June “Gerry” (Krigel) Salvay; his daughter-in-law, Helen Schwartz Salvay of Tucson, AZ and her two children: David of Chicago, and Miriam (Salvay) Shwartz (husband, Gilad) of Elbert, CO. His son and daughter-in-law, Craig and Linda Salvay, of Prairie Village, KS and their two children: Rachel of San Francisco, and Sarah (Salvay) Gallardo (husband, Robert) of Overland Park, KS. His son and daughter-in-law, Brian Allan “Boruch” and Loretta “Miriam” (Goodman) Salvay of Woodridge, NY, and their eight children: Naftoli (wife, Sarah) of New Hempstead, NY; Yosef of Nanuet, NY; Binyomin of Woodridge, NY; Naomi of Woodridge, NY; Shmuel of Woodridge, NY; Levi (wife: Chanah Rochel) of Far Rockaway (Queens), NY; Yisroel Meir, of Woodridge, NY; Esther Manya of Woodridge, NY. Nathan leaves five great-grandchildren: Shirel Leah, Meira Batyah, Moshe Chaim, Talia Shira, and Nicholas Giovanni. He is also survived by his brother Melvin Eugene (“Gene”) Salvay of Encino, CA, and his family; by his brother-in-law, Edwin M. (“Ed”) Krigel and his family; by his sister-in-law, Peggy Krigel, and her family, and by numerous beloved nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.