Samuel Sadin, a lumber executive who became an advocate for the elderly, died Sunday at his home in Great Neck, N.Y. He was 86.
The cause of death was a brain disorder similar to Alzheimer's disease, said his wife, Terry Cooper Sadin.

In 1975, Mr. Sadin sold his Seaway Lumber Corporation, a wholesale importer and distributor of Canadian lumber products, and through his volunteer work developed a program on aging for the American Jewish Committee. In 1977, he founded the Samuel Sadin Institute on Law at the Brookdale Center on Aging of Hunter College. 

He connected with similar organizations and joined their boards, working to ensure the rights of older people and bringing their concerns to the attention of the New York State and federal governments.

The Sadin Institute of Law trains about 900 students a year through seminars, workshops and conferences. It also provides continuing education for lawyers, social workers and health care providers.

Born in Brooklyn on March 12, 1918, the youngest of three sons of Dave and Anna Sadin, candy store owners, Mr. Sadin grew up in Brownsville during the Depression. After studying accounting at City College, he earned a degree in business administration.

During World War II he served as a captain in the Quartermaster Corps, stationed in Brooklyn.

In 1949, having worked first as an accountant, then as treasurer and controller of a large building-materials concern, he went into lumber distribution and formed Seaway. He and Miss Cooper married in 1941 and had two sons, Arthur, now a lawyer in Texas, and Robert, a musician in Brooklyn, who also survive him, along with a grandson. A daughter, Madeline, died in 1970.