Herb Weintraub

Herbert Weintraub, 92 (known as Herb to most and Herbie to friends and family), proud and loving father of Mark (Susan) and Lexi; doting grandpa to Isabella, Oliver, and Eva-Marie; and dearest partner of 30 years to Marilou Jones; passed away on October 26 peacefully in his home, surrounded by family.

Herb was born in 1933 in New York City to Morris Weintraub and Esther Greenspan, shopkeepers who emigrated from Poland through Ellis Island (separately) as teenagers. He and his older brother Paul were raised in the Bronx and grew up playing ball with friends in Van Cortlandt Park, and reading Classic Comics. Herb was a proud graduate of PS 95 and DeWitt Clinton High School, and he remained close with his school friends all his life.

He majored in Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois-Champaign, graduating in 1955. He was an enthusiastic member of Phi Sigma Delta, serving as Master Frater and then President. During the summers, he worked as a waiter at hotels in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York.

While at U of I, he met his first wife, Jackie Goldman (Don Seiden) and they married in 1957. That same year Herb entered the army and was posted to Fort Meade in Maryland through an ROTC commission. During the time he served in the Army, he worked as a data entry specialist on early-generation IBM computers and studied business at the University of Maryland, College Park.

After his discharge from the Army, Herb and Jackie embarked on a ten-month grand tour of Europe, sailing on the Queen Mary II, a belated wedding gift from Jackie's father, Sidney (Sid) Goldman. Following this they settled in New York City, and their son Mark was born in 1961.

Pursuing a business opportunity, the young family moved to Chicago in 1964, where Herb became a printing salesman at Premier Graphics downtown. Working at Premier and its several iterations over his entire career, he had great success and rose to President in 1980. He retired in 2013, with a career spanning 50 years.

Herb's close relationship with Jackie's parents, Sid and Molly Goldman, led to a lifelong interest in art and architecture, living and investing in condos designed by the architect Meis van der Rohe.

He married his second wife Maxine Schultz in 1969, and they led an active and engaged social life, the life of the party wherever they went. Their daughter Lexi was born in 1980.

A life-long athlete, Herb was an avid amateur champion-level tennis player at East Bank Club, Lincoln Park Tennis Club, and Fullerton Tennis Club.

Herb and Marilou met in the mid-1980s through their respective jobs, and enjoyed all the city had to offer. Later in life, they travelled much of the world, seeking out destinations off the beaten path, and finding particular interest in visiting sites in former Communist countries that honor those lost in the Holocaust. They were each other's Valentines.

As a successful businessman, Herb was a mentor to many, including his friend Phil Cole. He was generous and patient with his time and encouragement. He was a supporter of liberal causes, including Barack Obama's presidential campaigns. Providing his children with Ivy League educations was a source of much pride to him, as has been the full and unique lives they lead - Mark in architecture and Lexi in environmental science and ecology. His outlook toward education went on to inspire his grandchildren, who have all studied at top-ranking universities in Britain.

Herb's essence of warmth, enthusiasm, and positivity shone through as he aged, with his infectious smile forever lighting up a room. As his son Mark said, he was still Herb, right up to the end, a gentle, easy-going fellow who was comfortable in his own skin, and he had the unique ability to make others feel comfortable in theirs.

Herb was the most kind, playful, and loving soul. He never failed to say, "I love you," and beam it from every cell in his body. Until the end, Herb delighted in life's simple pleasures like big breakfasts, ice cream, and bagel sandwiches. He was talented with a yoyo and always up for a game of catch, even though at the end he had to stay seated.

He is survived by his children, grandchildren, and devoted partner, as well his children's mothers.

His family and friends now have a hole in their hearts and miss him dearly, as does the formidable and excellent cat, Chick Pea, whom he loved.

Donations to the Southern Poverty Law Center and PAWS Chicago are appreciated.

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