Jerome “Jerry” Rudy of Livingston, New Jersey passed away quietly in his sleep in the early hours of February 25th, 2017. In his 90 years on the planet, he was a bold and creative chemist, entrepreneur, artist, poet, naturelover, husband, father, brother, grandfather, and uncle.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1926 to Elsie (née Simon) and Harry Louis (Hirsch Leib) Rudy. By the time he was four years old, he was helping his parents mind their grocery store in East Harlem. A little later, he was given a chemistry set, and Jerry’s passion for science was ignited. He attended Ben Franklin High School, where he encouraged Daniel Patrick Moynihan to run for class office. Jerry’s lifelong friend, “Pat,” would go on to become one of the most significant public servants of the 20th century.
During World War II, Jerry trained at Virginia Military Institute as an aviation cadet and reservist.After the war, he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the City College of New York, completed a master’s degree at Brooklyn College, and the coursework for his Ph.D. at Columbia University.
Combining his chemical knowledge with his youth in the grocery store, he worked in consumer product development for Lever Brothers for over 25 years, generating ideas, formulas and methods that resulted in over 400 patents. In 1970, he started his own business, Chem Spa (now Spa Partners), with his beloved wife, Miriam (z”l), who passed away in November of 2022. The company continues to this day with a loyal and capable staff, many of whom were with them from the beginning. In addition to his business, he was brimming with ideas and plans for projects from curing cancer to developing new sources of energy.
Jerry loved kol yisrael, all Israel – the Jewish people. He showed his devotion to Judaism by revitalizing and then serving as the President of the Temple Beth Shalom Men’s Club and instilling in his family his deep love of their ancestry. One of the greatest memories of his life was saying kaddish for his grandmother in the destroyed synagogue of Dubno, Ukraine, her village of origin.
Jerry and Miriam had four children and three children by marriage: Hazel (Marvin), Stephanie, Abbey (David) and Daniel (Juliet), and seven grandchildren: Jessica, Rebecca, Benjamin, Zachary, Gabriella, Samuel and Talia. The family of this extraordinary man miss him every day, and are comforted by the many memories of his wit, energy, accomplishments and love for life.
