BRANDEN--Alex,

91, born Alexander Blumenberg in Berlin, Germany in 1925, passed away on December 24, 2016. Formerly of Great Neck, NY, he lived in Chapel Hill, NC since 2013. He fled Nazi Germany with his sister Judy and parents Mina and Mendel to the US in May 1938. A graduate of Stuyvesant High School in New York, he was drafted into the US Army's 99th Infantry "Checkerboard" Division in March 1944. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge, earning a Bronze Star for voluntary radio surveillance missions behind enemy lines. He was a post-war translator in the Nuremberg trials. He earned his B.B.A. from City College, CUNY, took charge of his father's manufacturing business, Globe Specialties, and vastly improved it in scope and success. A man of great kindness, selflessness and generosity of spirit, he loved nature, skiing, hiking, history, politics, classical music, and playing the violin. He is survived by his beloved wife of 60 years, Ann (Anneliese Lustig), children Peter Branden (Pennie), Leslie Branden-Muller (Eric), grandchildren Jonathan and Ariel Branden, Abby and Nina Muller, and sister Judy Mann.