Stephen Chaika, 93, of Long Island, N.Y., passed away in Nov. 2015, according to Herb Slater, one of Chaika's friends and co-workers from their days at Herb’s company, Slater Electric Co. Chaika was a long-time executive in the electrical field who worked for Federal Pacific, General Switch, Zinsco/American Electric before coming to Slater Electric.
He continued working for the Slater business after it was acquired by Pass & Seymour in 1984. Slater said Chaika was a World War II veteran who did research on torpedoes for the U.S. government. According to www.prabook.org, Chaika was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy from 1940-1946, and after the war he worked for Sperry in Garden City, N.Y., for several years before signing on as a sales engineer with Federal Pacific.