Herbert W. Slote, longtime resident of Springfield, New Jersey, passed away on July 16, 2020 in the home of his grandson, Dr. Scott Halpern, in Merion, Pennsylvania. He was 102.
Born October 14, 1917, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, he was the son of Samuel and Pauline (neé Hurwitz) Slote. His father, a physician, was originally from Warsaw. Herb went to Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, and attended the University of Maryland, until his education was interrupted by his father’s death. A combat veteran of WW2 he served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific as a Lieutenant (jg) on the destroyer USS Waldron (DD699), which supported combat missions in the South China Sea and the final strikes on the Japanese home islands leading to the cessation of hostilities in August 1945. He remained aboard the Waldron when she entered Tokyo Bay on September 10, 1945. After the war, he matriculated from City College with a degree in Geology.
Herb embarked on a career in the construction business with the firm of Shepard-Pollack in New York City, bidding for contracts to build public and parochial schools. During the Lindsay administration, he testified on Mafia presence in the construction industry. Later he became a construction engineer for Consolidated Cigar, a subsidiary of Gulf & Western.
He survived all four of his partners. His first marriage, to Claire Trieb of Brooklyn, NY (mother of his three children) ended with her death in 1961. At the time, the family lived in Sutton Manor, New Rochelle, NY. His second marriage, in 1969, to Gloria Silver of NYC, ended in divorce.
His third marriage, in 1977, to Sylvia Halpern, science educator, brought Herb to Springfield, New Jersey where he lived in Troy Village for 34 years. During this time, he entered community service, serving in a number of capacities: he worked tirelessly for the Springfield Democratic Club, and served several terms on the Township Committee including as mayor. Other organizations he worked for include: the Olmsted Park Conservancy; the Millburn- Springfield Kiwanis Club; the Master Gardeners; the Springfield Public Library; the Historic Tree Preservation Committee; the Springfield Historical Society; and the Cannonball House Preservation Society. Herb and Sylvia were founding members of Stop the Train, a group opposing the reintroduction of freight rail service through residential areas from Linden to Summit. In addition, they were, for many years, active members of the New York Academy of Sciences in NYC. Herb served as president of the Academy’s Lyceum Club.
After Sylvia’s death in 2011, Herb met Helen Heumann, a longtime resident of Roselle, NJ. Their companionship lasted until Helen’s death in 2017. The same year, Herb moved into Green Hill, an assisted living residence, in West Orange. More recently, he relocated to Merion, Pennsylvania where he was lovingly welcomed into the home of his grandson, Dr. Halpern, his wife Dr. Analisa Halpern, and their two daughters, Cassidy and Zoe.
A voracious reader of history, science, and literature to his last days, Herb was fiercely skeptical, independent, and civic-minded.
He is survived by his three children, Jessica and her husband Martin, William, and Peter and his wife Stacy; his grandson Baylen and his partner Alice and their daughter Rosa; his grandson
Lucas; his grandchildren from his marriage to Sylvia Halpern Slote: Scott Halpern, Allison Halpern Blatt, and Joshua Halpern; and their children; his nephew John Goldsmith; his niece Amy Snow, and her daughter Rebecca Pois Libsack; and the children of his last partner, Helen: Naomi Grobstein Walker, Daniel Grobstein and Sherry Grobstein.
Over the years, Herb was a regular visitor to the Sandy Hook National Park and its beautiful beaches and shoreline. Donations in his name can be made to The Sandy Hook Foundation, which runs conservation and educational programs in conjunction with the National Park Service at Sandy Hook.
Sandy Hook Foundation, 84 Mercer Road, Fort Hancock, NJ 07732
