Paul Schwartz, a lighting industry executive whose pioneering use of LED technology led him to light up Yankee Stadium, the Empire State Building, and other New York landmarks, died on August 2 in West Orange, New Jersey. He was 81. Mr. Schwartz, a devoted husband and father who raised his family in Livingston and spent nearly a half century in New Jersey, passed away peacefully at his home in Bel Air at West Orange. He had moved there in 2016, after retiring from a decades-long career in the lighting business. As a marketing executive to the industry, he sold commercial lighting, was the president of several marketing associations, and frequently received salesman of the year awards for the companies he represented. Earlier in his career, he founded his own lighting manufacturing factory, known as the Benchmark Products company, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. But it was his early adaptation to LED lighting – the energy efficient bulbs that were once a peripheral sector of the market – that ultimately defined his career. Sensing that the lighting industry was undergoing upheaval amid environmental concerns about incandescent lighting, Mr. Schwartz embraced the nascent light-emitting diode technology. And soon, he landed prominent projects in New York, including at the Empire State Building and the Lincoln Tunnel. He also struck deals in major sporting arenas, includingYankee Stadium and Red Bull Arena, a professional soccer stadium in Harrison, New Jersey. “He didn’t just light up our world, he lit up the world,” one of his daughters, Amanda Protess, said in her eulogy. But he lived for his family, she added. When his children were young, he coached his other daughter, Kimberly, in softball, took Amanda on nature walks and chaperoned their school trips. He later doted on his grandchildren, Harry and Lorelei Protess, frequenting their school events and extracurricular activities. He attended his granddaughter’s dance recitals and nearly every baseball game that his grandson played, cheering from the dugout fence. Heandhiswife,CynthiaSchwartz, traveled the world together, visiting over 30 countries and most of the United States.
Jerrold Paul Schwartz was born in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, the son of Louis, an attorney, and Rose, an administrative assistant, at the New York City Housing Authority. The youngest child in a family of three boys, he was raised in Brooklyn as well as in Hollis Hills, Queens. He spent summers at Old Orchard Beach in Maine with his mother’s extended family.
Mr. Schwartz attended New York University, where he was a member of Phi Epsilon Phi fraternity and received his bachelor’s degree from the School of Commerce, Accounts, and Finance. After attending graduate school, he moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he met Cynthia Greenberg, a school teacher. They married in 1970 and lived in Boston for three years, before moving to Queens, and then Livingston, where they raised their family.
Mr. Schwartz was preceded in death by his brother, Joel, and his daughter, Stephanie. He is survived by his wife, Cynthia (Greenberg) Schwartz; two daughters, Kimberly Schwartz and Amanda (Schwartz) Protess; his son-in-law, Ben Protess; and his grandchildren, Harry and Lorelei Protess.
Bernheim Apter Kreitzman handled the funeral arrangements. The service was held on Tuesday, August 6, at Mount Freedom Hebrew Cemetery in Randolph, New Jersey.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in his memory to Memorial Sloan Kettering.
For further information, go to bernheimapterkreitzman.com.
