John Radin Sr., former American Legion commander, dies at 77

John Radin Sr., a Koren War veteran and past commander of the American Legion Post in Long Beach, died Sept. 16 of respiratory heart failure. He was 77.

A lifelong Long Beach resident, Radin Sr. served in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956, after he had graduated from Long Beach High School, where he later established the school’s first hockey program and served as coach during the early 1970s. He graduated from Long Island University in Brooklyn with a bachelor’s degree in business in 1962. In 1974, he opened All Seasons Sporting Goods, a store that specialized in custom embroidery for team uniforms and engraving for plaques and trophies, according to the Long Beach Herald.

Raden Sr. and Ely Altarac, a fellow Korean War veteran and past commander of the Jewish War Veterans, collaborated to create the Veterans Walk of Honor and a brick program in 2007. Located on Reynolds Channel near the Long Beach Recreation Center, the walk pays tribute to past and present military personnel with a small monument and brick pavement inscribed with the names of veterans.

Radin Sr. and his wife, Mary, were married in 1957, and the couple had seven children — Frank, Jack, Jim, Jeanne, MaryBeth, Patrick and Tim — and 20 grandchildren. His daughter, Jeanne Radin-Forkin, 44, described her father as a devoted family man that was always willing to lend a helping hand and who took great pride in Long Beach. Said Radin-Forkin:

“He was very close with us. One of his famous quotes was ‘My wife is my life.’ He went out of his way for people — he’d walk down the street and everyone knew him.”
Radin Sr.'s funeral mass was held at St. Ignatius Church on West Broadway on Sept. 22. An estimated 500 people were in attendance.