Michael Solenick, 85, of North Massapequa, died on March 2, 2008. Funeral services were held at the Arthur White Funeral Home in Farmingdale on March 5 and burial was at Calverton National Cemetery on March 6.

Mike was a longtime resident of North Massapequa, having moved with his family to Viceroy in 1963. He graduated from Pratt Institute in 1943 with a degree in mechanical engineering and immediately entered the Navy. He served as a diesel instructor and translator for the lend-lease program and was stationed in the Aleutian Islands. After the war he worked exclusively in the defense industry at the Naval Training Device Center in Sands Point and then for a number of defense-related companies. He joined the Grumman Corporation in 1962 and was fortunate to work on a number of their key projects during the busy 1960s, 70s and 80s. Most notably, he was key team member in the lunar excursion module program which landed a man on the moon for the first time in August, 1969. Later he contributed to the Grumman efforts on the F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, and the E2C Hawkeye radar aircraft.

He retired in 1988 after 25 years with Grumman and spent his time doing what he liked best, fishing on his boat with family and friends. He was predeceased by his wife Norma in 2006 and is survived by his daughter Barbara, his son Paul, and his daughter-in-law Karen, all of whom graduated from Farmingdale High School.