Five Decades '60s · '90s · 2010
Lynbrook, Long Island · September 30, 1954
Robert Michael Seigel
September 30, 1954 · April 3, 2013 · Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Izod for thirty years. Three Camaros over five decades. Eloped to Jamaica. Drove every car to 200,000 miles. Grilled the perfect steak every single time.
Robert worked for Izod for over thirty years — ending up in marketing, and never without one of those Izod premier 100% cotton dress shirts. He didn't just sell the brand. He wore it.
Izod · PVHLong Island Born. Jersey Shore Adjacent.
Lynbrook Kid.
World Traveler.
Perfect Steak.
Robert Michael Seigel was born on September 30, 1954, and grew up in Lynbrook, New York — on Long Island's South Shore, not far from Jones Beach. Son of Charles and Muriel Seigel, high school sweethearts who stayed together over 64 years. Sibling to Lawrence Seigel and Stacey Gelman.
He was tall and slim — 6 feet 2 inches, built like a man who belonged behind the wheel of a Camaro, which he usually was. He loved the beach, loved to golf in the '90s, and was the kind of person who sat down in the sun, got a proper tan, and considered that a perfectly spent afternoon.
Robert met Debbie Doitteau at work — both of them at Izod in Manhattan. When Izod moved its offices near the Pennsylvania border, Robert and Debbie followed. Jackson Heights, Queens came first (1990–1991), then Whitehall, PA, and finally a townhouse in Hellertown, Pennsylvania — where Robert put down roots, grilled steaks, and kept a cat or two.
He loved music. The turntable was always set up, the LP records were always organized, and if you were at Robert's house, you were listening to something good on vinyl. He had the cats, the records, and the grill fired up — in roughly that order of importance.
He was not a big drinker. Not at all, really. But he was a devoted smoker — something he fought, something that ultimately cost him everything when lung cancer arrived. He fought for sixteen months, longer and harder than most. He passed on April 3, 2013, in hospice care near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He was 58 years old.
He drove every car to 200,000 miles before he got a new one. He was not the kind of man who gave up on things before they were finished.
Family Archive
Robert Seigel — In Photographs
A Man and His Cars
Three Camaros.
Five Decades.
200,000 Miles Each.
1969
The original.Lynbrook, Long Island.
Classic muscle.
2002
Back to the brand.→ Pennsylvania.
Izod years.
2011
The retro.The comeback model.
Full circle.
before he got a new one.
He finished what he started.
The Things That Made Robert, Robert
His Signatures
The Jamaica Elopement
Robert and Debbie didn't have a wedding — they had an elopement to Sandals Negril, Jamaica on October 21, 1991. Tropical. Spontaneous. Exactly right for two people who'd found each other at work and decided they didn't need much ceremony about what came next.
The Perfect Steak
Robert always cooked the family steak at his Pennsylvania homes. Always barbecued. Always perfectly done. The kind of cook who didn't need a thermometer because he knew — by feel, by timing, by instinct — exactly when it was right. People remembered those steaks.
Vinyl & The Turntable
Robert had a turntable and a collection of LP records he genuinely loved. In an era when everyone else was moving on, Robert was still playing his albums. The music mattered. The format mattered. He was not a man who traded quality for convenience.
Cat Person
Robert was a cat person. Always had a cat or two. The kind of detail that tells you something true about a person — that he appreciated independent, dignified company. That he could sit quietly and be content. That the house felt right with animals in it.
The Izod Shirt
Thirty years at Izod, ending in marketing. And throughout — always wearing those Izod premier 100% cotton dress shirts. He didn't just sell the brand. He believed in it. The shirt was as much a part of Robert as the Camaro.
Golf & the Beach
In the '90s, Robert loved to golf. He grew up near Jones Beach and never lost his affection for the shore — sitting in the sun, getting properly tanned, unbothered. A Long Island kid at heart, wherever life took him.
The Journey & The Loss
From Lynbrook
to Hellertown.
Christmas Day · Castle Hill · The Bronx
The news came on Christmas Day — at Lydia's home in Castle Hill in the Bronx. The family had just finished dinner: Lydia's famous pernil pulled pork, rice and beans — a Puerto Rican staple that Robert loved.
They were cleaning up in the kitchen when Debbie said the words. Christmas. The kitchen. The smell of pernil still in the air. That is how the family learned Robert had cancer. That moment does not leave you.
Robert Michael Seigel — The Record
Born — September 30, 1954, Lynbrook, NY
Parents — Charles & Muriel Seigel (64 years together)
Siblings — Lawrence Seigel, Stacey Gelman
Married — Debbie Doitteau, October 21, 1991, Jamaica
Career — Izod / PVH, 30+ years, Marketing
Build — 6'2", tall and slim
Camaros — Three. Late '60s, '90s, 2010.
Buried — Beth Israel Cemetery, Woodbridge, NJ