Samuel Bromberg, 88, a longtime weather forecaster who later became a Chicago high school teacher, died Friday, March 17, in San Diego, after a brief illness. Born and raised in Chicago, Mr. Bromberg received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Chicago. He joined the U.S. Weather Bureau in Chicago as a guidance forecaster in 1937. Mr. Bromberg was transferred to Washington, D.C., and when the United States entered World War II, he decided to enlist in the Army, because he “saw uniforms all around him,” said his brother, Michael. Mr. Bromberg served in the anti-aircraft artillery in the Canal Zone in Panama. After the war, he rejoined the Weather Bureau in Chicago. His work included giving skippers weather briefings in the 1966 Chicago to Mackinac race, during which he was aboard the Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw to give warnings of approaching bad weather. Mr. Bromberg, who was honored for his length of service with the bureau, retired in the 1970s after working there for more than 30 years. He subsequently began a second career as a math teacher at Von Steuben High School, retiring in the mid-1980s, his family said. In his spare time, Mr. Bromberg bowled in leagues and was a voracious reader. He also was an avid golfer, a sport he enjoyed so much he decided to move to San Diego and played as recently as January. Mr. Bromberg survived two wives, Florence and Dorothy, and a son, Robert. In addition to his brother, survivors include a daughter, Susan; a stepson, Neal Block; a stepdaughter, Ronna Nitekman; a sister, Rena Fishman; seven grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. The funeral service will be held at noon Monday in Congregation B’nai Emunah, 9131 Niles Center Rd., Skokie.
