Herb Spiegel
1933 -2025
Like professor Harold Hill in The Music Man, Herb Spiegel always heard a band.
He used to say that “life is a banquet; it’s a shame so many people are starving.” This man found beauty, joy, and humor in everything he did, and made sure that all he came into contact with felt that passion.
Herb died from a heart attack in the early morning of June 5th, 2025, at the well-earned age of 92. He leaves his wife of nearly 26 years, Joan (Rosen), 5 children from his late first wife Regina (Rubin): Jon, Bob, Suzanne, Adrienne, and Matthew, 2 beloved bonus children: Alysa Rose and Eric Rose, and a combined 13 grandchildren.
Those grandkids will be the pallbearers at his funeral, slated for Monday June 9th at 11 AM, at the Adath Israel section of Fountain Lawn Memorial Park, 545 Eggerts Crossing Road. He will be buried next to Regina in the family plot.
Herb always said “you should always marry your best friend. I did it twice.” He had two great marriages, filled with fun, curiosity, aesthetic expression, vibrant family gatherings, long term relationships that blossomed for decades, and boundless amounts of love.
Shiva will be at Herb and Joan’s home of 26 years, at 41 Clinton Street in Lambertville, on Monday June
9th and Tuesday June 10th from 4pm to 7pm. The Shiva will be festive and inclusive offering a time for spiritual and emotional healing. Mourners can come together to receive support and share stories from Herb’s incredible life.
Herb was the youngest of two sons, along with his older brother Irwin, to Herman and Ida Spiegel of Trenton. Herman founded and ran furniture stores in Trenton: Spiegel’s Modern Manor on Warren St, then State St, and eventually Herman Spiegel Fine Furniture on Route 1 in Lawrenceville. Herb became the manager, chief buyer and co-owner along with Irwin for the stores, showcasing an incredible eye for furnishings that served him and the business extremely well.
He always said that “beautiful design is great, but it should also be functional.” This fit his appreciation for everything, as his homes reflected his good taste. Often when people visited they said that being in the house felt like being in a museum. Herb started a business with a grandson, ‘Good Eye Grampa,’ and took to Instagram, forever evolving and growing.
From Herman, Herb learned far more than furniture and business. Once, when a great flood ravaged homes all over Trenton, Herman took out an ad in the paper saying that the store would replace any customer’s furniture that had been damaged, at cost. Herman and young Herb once picked up a challah for the Sabbath, and Herman left it sitting in the front seat of their unlocked car as they parked in front of the furniture store. Herb said “aren’t you worried that someone will take it?” Herman said “if someone needs a challah that badly, they can have it.”
Herb attended Trenton High School, where he encountered a favorite teacher: Elizabeth Dillon. “She taught me that there was more to life than just sports. She introduced me to the worlds of fine art, theatre and music. This has remained with me for my entire life.” He graduated in 1951, and both he and his then girlfriend Regina attended Rutgers University. There Herb was News Editor of the Daily Targum, covered Rutgers sports for the New York Times, and graduated with a double degree in Journalism and Marketing. He joined the Air Force, and was commissioned as a USAF Second Lieutenant. He served as a Strategic Air Command navigator, utilizing an impeccable sense of direction that automobile passengers could attest to throughout his life. He supported U2 bomber missions, including the one that Frances Gary Powers flew over Russia. On one of those missions, Herb asked the pilot to tune the radio to the 1956 World Series, and the entire crew listened to Don Larsen’s legendary perfect game.
After 26 years running the furniture store, he and Irwin closed it in 1984. Herb became the Director of the Mercer County Community College Small Business Development Center, providing counseling and training for both start-up and existing small businesses. He installed an International Trade DataBase at the center and traveled multiple times to Russia, where while on a leave of absence from MCCC he established the first Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in that country’s history. He spent 4 months in St. Petersburg. A fellow instructor, a native, wrote that “Russia will never be the same since Herb Spiegel’s arrival. Herb was like the pied piper; people were following him around. He brought laughter. He taught them the art of the joke.”
Once in Princeton, Herb was invited to a party at The Institute for Advanced Study, the famous incubator of some of the finest scientific minds in human history. Herb was intellectually intimidated. But at one point the director of the Institute, Harry Woolf, leaned over and said “did you ever hear the one about…” and Herb knew he was in good shape. He told Harry a joke that made him roar, and the next day Herb Spiegel’s joke was traveling through the halls among physicists from room to room.
After 15 years with the SBDC, he became a very popular teacher at MCCC, teaching Marketing, Consumer Behavior, and Introduction to Business. Herb served his community as a 3 term president and head of the admissions committee at the Greenwood House Home for the Jewish Aged.
After Regina’s death, 4 different friends eventually each said to him “I have a perfect woman for you.” Herb told them he needed someone who was “spontaneous, has passion for life, and is willing to learn.” And they said “she’s got all three.” Herb and Joan built a new life together in Lambertville, where he became part of the fabric of the community. He volunteered as a docent at Grounds For Sculpture. He was a member of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Advisory Commission. This willingness and ability to begin anew has been inspirational. Their front porch on Clinton St, like the porch he grew up on in Trenton, became a place where people looked forward to spending a few minutes with him. He flourished here, and never stopped growing.
Herb lived and saw countless wonders of the world, and loved to share them. He saw Willie Mays play minor league ball for the Trenton Giants. He was at the 1980 Olympics, and saw the Miracle On Ice. He attended a World Series game at both Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. He once had a scary evening with a bout of transient global amnesia, and when he came to the first thing he remembered was the starting lineup of the 1943 Red Sox. He listened to Muhammad Ali defeat Sonny Liston on a transistor radio while at the Metropolitan Opera House.
He loved to sit in the backyard, and he consistently watered plants in both front and back. No matter what life brought, Herb knew there was an opportunity to grow. His bonus children and grandchildren enriched his final 3 decades immeasurably, and the two families he brought together have become beautifully enmeshed in one another’s lives.
Herb Spiegel was an inspiring model of humanity, all the way to the end. He lived life to the very last drop.
Funeral services and burial are 11:00 AM on Monday, June 9 at Fountain Lawn Memorial Park, 545 Eggerts Crossing Road, Ewing, NJ. Shiva will be observed at the Spiegel residence in Lambertville on Monday and Tuesday from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Greenwood House.
Funeral arrangements are by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel. OrlandsMemorialChapel.com/Herbert-Spiegel
So missed by our community, so many laughs and kindnesses he brought to us all. A long life ,lived well. No more porch drive by. Always informed me of things he knew would interest me. Good human.
A true gentleman! Loved by all!
Always heard the band !
Going to miss you so much herbie!!!!!
Herb will be missed tremendously by his neighbors and friends. He educated us with his knowledge, entertained us with his great stories or provide an example of how to live a rewarding life.
Herb is proof that there is good in this world .
We are all better for having Herb in our lives .
His legacy of kindness .humor . wisdom .will live on .
Thinking Herb has his porch chair in heaven ….
Holding his new friends captivated with stories of all those dear to him while here on earth
Our grandson Logan adored Herb ! We thank you for kindness you showed to our grandson Dear Herb !
A true mensch
Herb’s warmth and humor, his abiding affection for family and friends keep his memory ever close in mind and heart. Herb had a generosity of spirit, a curiosity about life and people, a sense of humor that always gave a positive perspective to his point of view and relationships. He was a serious person who travelled lightly in this world. Most of all, he was a loving & abiding friend who we will deeply miss. It was a gift to be a part of his journey.
A father figure to me from day one. Taught me how to drive, how to use “the think method,” how to say “yes” to life’s gifts and most importantly four important words, “how can I help.”
Herb was warmth, wonder, and welcoming. His joy for life was infectious, and he had a lovely way of being present with everyone he interacted with. It took me a while to realize he made a special effort each time he visited his grandchildren to find me. He would stand in the midst of his family, eyes searching until he found me, then we would greet and hug each other, and he would always whisper in my ear, “Thank you for taking care of my grand children.” Not many people would think to take the time, but Herb was just that kind of guy.
A man who raised a son Bob to mentor many and lead by example and became a brother and father figure to me it’s always next man up. Rest well knowing your lineage is in great hands. RIP 🙏
What an amazing person, Herb was! He was a mentor to me in my youth, and offered me many pieces of advice and support. I have memories of working in his darkroom with him, riding in his Jaguar, and his sending me postcards of his photos during my first year away at college. I will never forget his kindness and generosity to me. Thank you, Herb! May memories of you bring comfort to those who love and miss you.
He was an essential part of my teenage years and beyond. Herb, alongside Regina, had that rare gift of making Jon’s friends feel not just welcome, but truly seen. Their home felt like an extension of our own, filled with warmth, conversation, and a kind of quiet confidence in us that stayed with me long after I left.
Herb had a twinkle in his eye that never dimmed, especially when he was delivering a joke, a clever observation, or, what I remember most fondly, hearing an update about one of Jon’s friends. Whether it was a graduation, a job, a cross-country move, or a small personal win, he absorbed our news with pride. His signature shrug, as if to say “of course you did,” was more than just a mannerism. It was a kind of benediction. It let us know that he believed in us, always had,and expected us to do well. And somehow, that expectation was never a burden. It was empowering. A subtle affirmation I didn’t always get elsewhere. To me, it was a deeply meaningful addendum to my own parents’ recognition, and I’ve never forgotten it.
Later, in his older years, visiting him in Lambertville was always a pleasure. Returning a lamp, one my parents likely bought in the late ‘60s from his store, felt like a small but poetic gesture, a full circle of sorts. We’d sit and talk about life, love, loss, and all the complications in between. Herb had the kind of wisdom that didn’t announce itself loudly.
Herb struck me as one of those people of whom it would be said, without hesitation, “he lived a good life.” And I believe that’s exactly what he did. His memory remains a great blessing—and a shining one—for me, and I know for many others who had the gift of knowing him
I enjoyed occasionally “talking” baseball with Herb by email.
His replies were always vibrant and cheerful while being quite informative. It was easy to picture him smiling as he typed them.
Tom Shaer
Scottsdale, Arizona