Obituaries

Irving Jacob Goldberg was born in Youngstown, Ohio on November 21, 1927 to poor but resourceful immigrant parents, Ben and Mary. Over the next 10 years, he was joined by three brothers: Meyer, Norman and Joe, who shared an appetite for mischief and loyalty to one another. His hard-driving father pushed him into the steel mills as a teen. His mother was a role model who introduced him to the public library and the betterment of working people. An inexhaustible will to overcome adversity and a determination to protect his loved ones drove Irving throughout his life. He savored all 62 years of marriage with his beloved wife and partner Esther. Together they raised three adored and talented children, Beth, Michael and Robert, who rewarded them with seven equally adored and even more talented grandchildren, Maya, Mia, Ari, Sophie, Asher, Avery and Jonah. All of Irv’s family members are proud to continue his legacy of aspiration, curiosity, generosity, love of family and laughter.

As a teenager, Irv was scrappy and unafraid, known to some as “Red Goldberg” for circulating The Daily Worker amongst his high school classmates. Eager to leave Youngstown, he left high school to join the U.S. Army. There, he served for 18 months before being honorably discharged. In 1948, he began his studies at Youngstown College (now Youngstown State University) with the help of the G.I. bill before transferring to a joint degree program in business and law at the Ohio State University and Ohio Northern. While in college Irv joined the Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) fraternity and later glowed about turning the annual coed May Day event into a series of week-long festivities.

Irv’s college days were cut short when his father Benjamin suffered a heart attack. He dropped out of law school and moved back to Youngstown to take his father’s place at his parents’ small grocery store. Irv had to make magic out of nothing. With minimal means he managed to modernize the store, attract a stream of new shoppers and make the business consistently profitable for the first time.

In 1954 an extended visit to his Aunt Norma in Springfield, Massachusetts changed Irving’s life. He met the love of his life, Esther Shub who was unlike any woman he’d encountered. She was beautiful and intelligent and open to wide-ranging conversation. He felt at ease and understood and the two of them could “talk about everything.” He readily accepted her condition that they be equal partners in marriage. In June of 1955, the couple were wed in Esther’s parents’ backyard, surrounded by family and a feast prepared by Esther’s Aunt Bessie. Irv had quickly become a popular member of Esther’s extended family.

Irving and Esther’s first child, Beth, was born nine months later, followed by Michael and Robert, each three years apart. The family moved to the nearby suburb of Longmeadow, Massachusetts so that their children could attend the best public schools. With Esther’s constant encouragement, Irving founded Hampden Insurance, which grew into a flourishing regional brokerage. Irv believed insurance truly gave people peace of mind and viewed each sale as a way to help others improve their lives, not just a way to make a living. He was a charming salesman who turned his challenges into advantages. As someone with a wobbly sense of direction who could “get lost in a parking lot,” he might arrive late at a client’s home, but he would have already sold coverage to the owners of the gas stations he’d frequented to ask for directions.

In 1969, Irv and Esther took a leap of faith with their closest friends, the Perlman’s, and moved their young families to golden Los Angeles, buying homes side by side on Nanberry Road in Encino. But after Nixon’s financial policies upended Irv’s new business venture, he was forced to start from scratch again. He seized on an opening in the supplemental insurance market and established the National Specialty Marketing Division to sell innovative supplemental policies through payroll deduction. He recruited his brother Norman to serve as VP and CFO and help negotiate an alliance with the Lone Star Life Insurance Company. Irv built an increasingly successful national sales organization by enlisting agents he trained and inspired with missionary zeal.

By 1979, all four of the Goldberg brothers were living in the Los Angeles area. Irving honored the pledge he’d made to his mother Mary to look out for his younger brothers and keep them together. Tensions with Norman led Irv to retire early, but Irv still reached out to repair their relationship in later years.

Irving’s natural entrepreneurial spirit was surpassed only by his dedication to family. Always an enthusiastic father, he’d wake up early to bear hug his children, whom he promoted with new monikers: Queen of Sheba, Big Mike, and Super Robbie. He attended a Marriage Encounter weekend with Esther and became even more committed to their partnership. When Michael was diagnosed with diabetes as a teen, Irving ensured his continuous access to medical care. Irv championed Robert on the soccer field and in his choice of career. He supported Beth’s desire to drop out of college to work for the United Farm Workers. He revered his wife’s accomplishments as she assumed regional and state PTA leadership and fought for gender equity in Los Angeles schools. He delighted in his children’s educational and professional success.

Following his retirement in 1986, Irving and Esther traveled the world and enjoyed summers in Santa Cruz with family. After Michael received a life-saving kidney transplant, Irv started a nonprofit called Transplant for Life, which greatly increased donor awareness among the interfaith religious communities. He continued to be an advocate for liberal and social causes. A voracious reader who welcomed new ideas, Irving became more and more open-minded throughout his life. He was proud to be something of a feminist, who humorously praised “Ms. Adonai” for Her “change of administration.”

Irv’s children and grandchildren brought him unsurmountable joy until his final days. He welcomed his children’s spouses, Ben, Elizabeth and Karen, into the family and his relationships with his children and their spouses deepened over time. He was delighted by the arrival of each of his seven grandchildren and built mutually delightful friendships with each one. He loved with an unmatched buoyancy and deep curiosity. He believed in courage and initiative, reveled in his grandchildren’s achievements and forged friendships wherever he went, including with his late-in-life caregivers. He loved nothing more than to tell a story full of “sizzle” in his baritone voice, complete with dramatic pauses and sly humor. Most of all, he relished bringing family together for grand gatherings like his 95th birthday, where he basked in the love surrounding him while radiating it right back.

Seemingly immortal, Irving passed away just a month shy of his 97th birthday. He remained famously handsome and still looked at least twenty years younger than he was. He had outlived many of those he loved most profoundly, and always honored their lives. The loss of his brilliant son & University of Washington professor Michael Goldberg in 2016 was followed by Esther’s passing less than a year and a half later, a time that may have been the hardest period of his life. But he also brought renewed tenderness and care to his relationships with family and friends. He mourned the passing of his three younger brothers, most recently his brother Joe, who had become Irving’s protector and close friend. He grieved and deeply missed his best friends, Jerry Mark, Eugene Fox, Jimmy Petrella, Irving Grant, and Arnold Perlman.

Until his very last days, Irving was determined to envelope his family with love and to imbue them with confidence and resilience. He accepted the end of his very full life while yearning to keep enlivening his loved ones. And he will. May we always continue to discover the mighty depths of his love.

We hope you’ll join us this coming Friday at 2:00 in the Large Chapel at Hillside Memorial. Irving would love having all of us gathered together to say our goodbyes. If you’re unable to be physically present, you can join us using the livestream link here: https://hillsidememorial.livecontrol.tv/be4aa0f0