Malvin Sumka
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Obituary

Malvin Sumka

Malvin (“Mal”) Sumka, 93, of Montville died Aug. 30, 2019. He was born and raised in Newark.

Mr. Sumka left Newark’s Weequahic High School when he turned 18 to enlist in the U.S. Army and fought in Europe during World War II. After the war, he completed high school at Barringer High School in Newark. He attended Columbia University and earned his degree in industrial engineering. Later he enrolled at Rutgers University to earn his B.A. in mathematics and his M.A. in educational administration and started a new career as a teacher.

During his tenure in the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District (1960-1988) he was a high school math teacher; director of vocational education, where he launched the district’s first work-study program; director of data processing, where he created and ran the district’s first computer center; and a Parsippany Hills High School computer teacher. He inspired his students to come to school before the day started to work with him on a cutting-edge project in 1963-64, building a digital electro-mechanical computer. They named the computer PLADEMAC. This past year he was inducted into the Parsippany High School Hall of Fame.

He was an active member at Lake Hiawatha Jewish Center and Pine Brook Jewish Center and was a past men’s club president.

In his early years, he was a Boy Scout who achieved many honors, eventually becoming scout master of Troop 96 in Weequahic for 13 years.

In 2016, after more than 70 years of teaching, which included County College of Morris, corporate training, giving seminars, and teaching at summer camps for children through his company The Cyberphile Group. And volunteering to teach women in crisis at National Council of Jewish Women, he retired at age 91.

He was an honored committee member of the Sunday Morning Group at Weequahic High School.

He is survived by his wife of over 63 years, Myra (Diener); three daughters, Shelley (Peter) Gray, Fran (Marc) Schlenoff, and Debbie; his son, David (Grace); five grandchildren; and two great-grandsons.

Services were held Sept. 1 with arrangements by Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel, Livingston.

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