Carlos M. Dobryn, Innovative Engineer
Carlos M. Dobryn of Montauk died at his home there on Aug. 21. He was 82 and had been in good health until about five months ago.
Mr. Dobryn, an innovator in the field of engineering, had a long career. In New York City, working with the firm of Skilling, Helle, Christiansen, and Robertson, he designed the antenna for the top of the World Trade Center. He later founded his own firm, Carlos Dobryn Consulting Engineers.
An expert in wind and earthquake high-rise building design, he was called in on projects across the United States and internationally, becoming known for his ability to solve challenging engineering problems that stymied others. In 1988, Mr. Dobryn designed a bridge-like composite truss system to support a 36-story concrete hotel over the landmark Palace Theatre in Times Square. The system was the first of its kind in this country, and Engineering News-Record, a trade publication, did a cover story on it.
Mr. Dobryn’s other high-rise projects included the structural design of 17 State Street at the southern end of Manhattan, the AT&T building in Midtown, and the Sony Center in San Francisco.
Carlos Martin Dobryn, whose Hebrew name was Mordechai, was born in Buenos Aires on Aug. 16, 1936, one of two children of the former Elena (Chaia) Pasternak, who had emigrated there from Romania, and Raul (Irucham) Dobryn, a native of Poland. He graduated with a degree in civil engineering from the University of Buenos Aires.
In 1962, he and Renata Berge of Buenos Aires married. They lived in Israel for three years and then in Manhattan, where, said his family, his career throve even before he knew much English. The couple eventually separated; Mrs. Dobryn died in June 2016.
Mr. Dobryn first came to Montauk in 1968, on a family vacation at the Hither Hills State Park campground. In the late ’70s, he bought a house in Springs, and 10 years later built his own house in Montauk, where he had lived year round since 2002. He enjoyed camping in state and national parks throughout his life, his family said, and “was an excellent fire-maker, also an excellent sushi-maker.” When he retired he enjoyed gardening and landscaping, as well as creating beautiful arrangements of flowers from his garden.
“He lived a good and full life,” the family said. “He was a kind and generous man, a loving father who encouraged his children to experience life to its fullest.” He was an attentive grandfather, too, they said, and enjoyed introducing his five grandchildren to new experiences.
An older sister, Raquel Dobryn of Buenos Aires, died before him.
In addition to his grandchildren, he is survived by a son, Daniel Dobryn of Cos Cob, Conn., a daughter, Donna Dobryn of Mill Valley, Calif., and his longtime companion, Mindy Cantor. Rabbi Aizik Baumgarten of Chabad of the Hamptons in East Hampton, who was a good friend, officiated at a service there on Aug. 23, followed by burial at the Independent Jewish Cemetery in Sag Harbor.
His parting thought, his children wrote, was: “Nothing is what it was made to appear to be.”
Memorial donations have been suggested in the name of Akivah Mordechai Dobryn, for Chabad of the Hamptons, P.O. Box 5107, East Hampton 11937, or online at chabadofthehamptons.com.