Igor Umansky

Igor was born in Germany in 1947 and was the oldest of four children to Arcenti and Anna Umansky.  The family moved to Belgium where they lived for several years until Igor was about twelve years old.  It was at this time the family immigrated to the United States in search of a better life and the American Dream.  When arriving in America, the family settled in Passaic where Igor attended Passaic High School.  While at Passaic High, Igor discovered his hidden skills and talent for the sport of American Football.  He was placed at the position of Center and made the high school All-State team.  Following his graduation from Passaic High School with the class of 1965 he earned a full football scholarship to Clemson University in South Carolina.  Igor transferred to Colorado State where he continued his All American College Football career but unfortunately suffered a shoulder injury which would cause him to miss his window of opportunity playing in the pros.  

While at a party in his college years, Igor met an attractive young lady by the name of Mildred Kneeland.  Igor and Mildred hit it off great and started dating.  As fate would have it they fell in love and were married in 1971 at St John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Church in Passaic.  They had their reception at the Wayne Manor and honeymooned in the Bahamas.  Igor and Mildred settled in Cliffwood Lake in the town of Vernon in the early 1970’s and remained there for the rest of their lives together.  During their time living in Vernon they welcomed their one and only child Michael.

Over the years Mildred and Igor traveled quite a bit and frequented Marco Island in Florida.  Igor and Mildred cherished forty-two years of loving and loyal marriage together until Mildred’s passing in 2013.  Following his wife’s passing, Igor carried on and fulfilled their dream when he moved to Marco Island, Florida in 2017 after retiring from a 20+ year career with Tri-Coastal Design in East Hanover as Director of Logistics.

Igor never lost his love for sports, he followed professional football and also took up Karate when his son was a teenager, eventually earning a black belt.  One of Igor’s favorite past times was fishing, particularly saltwater fishing.  He was the captain/owner of a private fishing boat charter company Reel-Xtreem Fishing.  After moving to Florida he spent his time fishing for a variety of species of fish such as Tarpon, Common Snook, and Atlantic Tripletail fish.  Igor was also a member of the environmental organization Captains for Clean Water.  Igor also enjoyed cooking and in his free time he loved visiting one of his very good friends in Oak Ridge who owned Giuseppe’s Restaurant.  There Igor would drop in on occasion and do some cooking for his friend in the restaurant’s kitchen.

Igor was a fun person to be around.  He was the kind of person you couldn’t help but like.  He was funny, sarcastic and enjoyed socializing.  Every year his high school graduating class held a special get-together at Rut's Hut Hot Dog Restaurant in Clifton.  Igor was a wonderful outgoing person who made and cherished many life-long friendships.  Apart from all of Igor’s talents, interests, and hobbies, his greatest passion was for his friends and family.  He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and brother.  He was the rock of his siblings and treasured spending time with his only granddaughter Collin.  Igor was a truly special person who touched the lives of many people and will be missed by everyone that knew him.

Igor is survived by his son Michael Umansky and his wife Kristen of Vernon, his brother Alex Umansky of Naples, FL, one granddaughter Collin Umansky of Vernon, Sisters-in-law Susan Kneeland of Wall Twp and Sonja Kneeland of Butler.  He was predeceased by his wife Mildred Umansky (nee Kneeland) in 2013, and also by his two sisters; Lydia Umansky, and Tania Umansky.

In lieu of flowers, donation in Igor’s name may be made to Captains for Clean Water, 2031 Jackson St, Fort Meyers, FL 33901.  http://www.captainsforcleanwater.org/