Baltimore-based author, publisher, poet and certified public accountant Peter George Engelman passed away on Wednesday, July 2.
The Pikesville resident was 85.
“I am a retired CPA, active writer, magician, spiritual reader, leader and personal and business adviser,” Engelman described himself in his LinkedIn account. “I love using my creative self in all my endeavors. I seek truth in everything I write and advise. Lies beget more lies and truth is the healing elixir of life.”
Born in London at the outset of World War II, Engelman was the son of Jewish immigrants from Czechoslovakia who were on the run from the Nazi invasion.
After surviving the London Blitz, he and his family immigrated to the United States in November of 1940 from the port of Liverpool to New Orleans on the steamship Orbita.
Initially, the family lived in the rural Oklahoma city of Atoka through the sponsorship of an uncle and aunt. But with the help of another uncle who lived in Baltimore, they relocated to this area.
A 1957 Baltimore City College graduate, Engelman initially worked in his father’s toy and hobby store. Later, he graduated from the University of Baltimore with a degree in accounting.
After passing the CPA exam, Engelman worked as a field agent for the Internal Revenue Service.
For 38 years, he worked in private practice as a CPA, representing individuals and corporate clients from various fields, including medical, real estate and manufacturing. He also taught college accounting classes and volunteered for community groups.
In 2001, Engelman retired from the accounting field and decided to pursue a career as a writer. For 24 years, he owned Terumah (Hebrew for offering), a self-publishing and consulting company.
He authored eight books, including “The Minyanaires,” about the daily Jewish practice of mourning and worship at Pikesville’s Beth El Congregation, as well as “And Time Goes By: An Autobiography.”
“What a wonderful, kind and loving son, brother, husband, father, grandfather and friend to all,” wrote his sister-in-law, Carol Engelman, on the website of Sol Levinson & Bros. “You were like the brother I never had … calm, steady and reassuring. You had a beautiful life, Pete, though life was very difficult at times. But with your Sandy ever by your side, you were deeply loved and weathered the storms together. Rest now, Pete, and know that our love for you continues through eternity.”
Peter Engelman is survived by his wife, Sandy Engelman (nee Blumberg); his daughter, Linda Engelman; his stepchildren, Lisa (Richard) Shure and Howard Silbert; his sisters-in-law, Carol Engelman and Fran (Ron) Fidler; his grandchildren, Sophie Engelman, Justin, Jeremy and Jared Engelman, Austin and Selena Engelman, Jillian (Jimmy) Walsh, and Matthew and Brandon Shure; and great-grandchildren Owen and Tommy Walsh.
He was predeceased by his sons, Steven and Gary Engelman; his brother, Jerry Engelman; and his parents Paul Engelman and Doris Engelman Dogoloff.
Services were held Friday morning, July 4, at Sol Levinson’s Chapel in Pikesville. Interment at Arlington Chizuk Amuno Cemetery, 4300 N. Rogers Avenue.
Contributions in his memory may be sent to the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Avenue, floor 17, Chicago, Illinois 60601, or Beth El Congregation. 8101 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21208.
The family will be in mourning at the DoubleTree by Hilton, 1726 Reisterstown Road in Pikesville.
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