Neil M. Singer, of Chevy Chase, Maryland and Nantucket, Massachusetts, died April 22, 2021, after a five-year struggle with cancer. Neil was 81.
Neil was born in New York City on November 21, 1939 but grew up largely in eastern Connecticut. He prepared at Norwich Free Academy in Norwich, Connecticut. In 1960, Neil graduated from Harvard University, where he was affiliated with Lowell House, with an A.B. magna cum laude in Economics and then earned an M.A. (1961) and Ph.D. (1965) in Economics from Stanford University. Most of his professional life was spent in Washington, D.C. as a professor of economics at the University of Maryland and as a senior analyst and program manager at the federal Department of Defense and the Congressional Budget Office, from which he eventually retired.
Neil’s first marriage ended in divorce. In 1984, he married Sueanne Pfifferling, who survives him. He is also survived by his children Elizabeth Singer (Stephen Weisbrod), Daniel Singer (Alison), and Andrew Singer (Alexandra Citrin) and his grandchildren (Jodie Singer, Lauren Singer, Nina Weisbrod, and Nathan Weisbrod). Neil often commented that their success was his proudest accomplishment.
Neil loved Blueberry Pie ice cream, white clam pizza, the New York Yankees, and duplicate bridge. He was well known on Nantucket as the co-founder, with Joyce Levy, of the Faraway Island Bridge Club, a non-profit club that annually returned several thousand dollars to Nantucket charitable organizations. He also loved word games and crossword puzzles and was a former rookie of the year at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.
Funeral arrangements are private and a memorial service is planned for a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to Nantucket Cottage Hospital (https://giving.nantuckethospital.org/).
