Donald Jacob Solomon's Obituary
Donald Jacob “Jack” Solomon, 85, of Fort Myers, FL, went to be with the Lord on Thursday, December 31, 2009 at Health Park Medical Center. The son of Ralph George and Blanche Ruth (Silverman) Solomon, he was born April 22, 1924, in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Stamford, CT. Jack was a college student when he enlisted in the U.S. Army as Private First Class, 135th Infantry. Serving as a rifleman in the Rome-Arno and North Apennines Campaigns from April 1943 to July 1945, he was wounded in battle and received a Purple Heart, Good Conduct Ribbon, Combat Infantry Badge, and European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with Two Service Stars. After being honorably discharged from the Army, Jack returned to college and earned a degree in Hospitality Management from the University of Southern California. In 1947 he moved with his family to Fort Myers, where he and his father built Motel Floridan, a 21-room motel on a large parcel of land on Cleveland Avenue that was run by the Solomon family; the head electrician on the job had worked under Thomas Edison. In 1956 he met the love of his life, Amelia, a Registered Nurse. They married on June 30, 1957 at the Venetian Isle Hotel in Miami Beach, FL. In 1958, they gave birth to a daughter, Tara Lynn, and also opened Biff-Burger, a popular fast-food restaurant they ran together until 1973. In 1959, they gave birth to a son, Ralph David. In 1976, Jack went to San Francisco, CA, to obtain his stock brokerage license, and became a stockbroker with Raymond James & Assoc. in Fort Myers. He retired when he was 73 yet continued trading stocks until his last days. His beloved Amelia went to be with the Lord on September 14, 1999. Jack was an affable, thoughtful, intelligent man who loved his family and God.Survivors include his daughter Tara Lynn Solomon of Miami Beach, FL; son Ralph David (wife, Jean Elizabeth) Solomon of Fort Myers, FL, and their children Thomas David Solomon and William Elliot Solomon; and niece Roxanne (Miller) Markline of Bulverde, TX. Jack was preceded in afterlife by his parents and sister, Beverley Miller, of Fort Myers.Funeral services will be held Saturday, January 9, 2010 at Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, 1589 Colonial Blvd. with visitation from 10 a.m. to noon, at the chapel, followed by a service with military honors at noon. Condolences may be sent to his daughter at:[email protected] and son at: [email protected].
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