Alan S. Nadel

Alan Nadel passed away on June 13 from cancer. Survived by beloved wife Sandra Smith Nadel; son Russell (Tara) Nadel, and daughter Fran Nadel; grandsons Ari and Milo Nadel; brothers Don (Lesley), Lee, and Mike (Roberta) Nadel; sisters-in-law Karen Smith, Lorraine Smith, and Beth Ann Smith; and brother-in-law Michael (Tina) Smith. 

Al was born April 1, 1949, in Milford, Conn., the oldest child of Rhoda and Jerry Nadel. An honors student and basketball standout at Jonathan Law High School, he went on to attend George Washington University.

He graduated GW with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and captained the university’s crew team; he would go on to be the first rower inducted into the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame. After a stint at the National Institutes of Health, Al then earned his law degree from GW.

In 1972, he married the former Marcy Rettig. They moved from Washington to Wyncote, PA, in 1976, and had two children, Russell and Fran.

Al served as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserves, receiving his discharge in 1977.

With his focus on patent and copyright law, Al became a partner in the firm of Seidel, Gonda, Goldhammer & Panitch. In 1983, he helped form the firm of Panitch, Schwarze, Jacobs & Nadel.

He was especially proud of two patents he was instrumental in procuring: the Super Soaker water-gun toy and the Prince oversized tennis racquet.

Al was active in Boy Scouts most of his life – earning Eagle Scout as a boy; working at his beloved Camp Sequassen as a young man; and serving as a scout leader, most recently with Adath Jeshurun’s Troop 185.

He was very involved in life at AJ, serving as the synagogue’s president from 2000-02, as well as an officer and trustee.

Al remained active at George Washington University, where he was a trustee and served on the President’s Council for Arts and Sciences. In 2023, the crew program named one its shells after him, with Russell and Fran taking part in the christening.

He was an avid skier who enjoyed the challenge of swooshing down mountains throughout North America and Europe.

Al remarried in 2015, and he shared his passion for travel with his wife Sandy. They trotted the globe from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle … and lots of spectacular sites in between.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Alan’s memory may be made to Friends of GW Men’s Rowing (gwmensrowing.com).