Robert Hirsch’s life story was characterized by quiet achievement and an abiding sense of love. His days were marked by equal parts perseverance, passion for life, family dedication, and humor. Born and raised of little means on the north side of Chicago, Robert was proud to be one of the first in his family to attend the University of Illinois on the GI bill. He earned his college education from his US Army service as a medic at Los Alamos on the Manhattan Project.

In college, he met the love of his life, Margot Tick, and theirs was a romance that never ended. After college, they started selling greeting cards, door to door. With his sunny disposition and as a team, many doors were opened. Greeting card sales led to scrap metal sales and these successes eventually led him to found the Pioneer Screw and Nut Company. His small fastener company grew into a major business in the tool and fastener industry, as he supported the expansion of American business in Chicago. His employees loved him and appreciated his mentorship. His work was, however, never more important than family. Proud of his work, his family was also extremely happy to have such a handy Jew in the household. His daughter, Gail, said, “He had every tool available, and many that no other Jews in the neighborhood had. He could fix anything from the home furnace to the laundry machine to the kitchen sink.”

Robert and his growing family settled in the North Shore. He belonged to North Shore Congregation Israel for 55 years. His marriage to Margot offered him love and family, and they raised two children, Gail and Alan. His wife’s personal history also had a profound effect on Robert’s commitment to Judaism. Margot was a 1939 immigrant from Germany, a 13-year-old witness to Kristallnacht, and her family heritage gave Robert and the Hirsch family first-hand knowledge of how Germany’s history lead to the Holocaust. Robert always believed in the importance of giving to the Jewish community and he did so through the JUF. He contributed to the JUF Annual Campaign, made a Centennial Campaign gift and was an active member of many JUF committees. Robert served as an officer and director of the Federation Board of Metropolitan Chicago and Mt. Sinai Hospital. In addition, he served as Chairman of the Advanced and Major Gifts Committee.

As a renaissance man, Robert played the clarinet, loved music spanning jazz to opera, and later in life, was proud to learn to cook. At the age of 74, he enrolled in Hebrew classes at his Temple. Travel was his passion. With his children, he loved to ski and hike. As his son, Alan, said, “He made sure we experienced unfettered joy of the wilderness, but were always safe-with seriousness-from sharks, jellyfish, rattlesnakes, and grizzlies.”

He enjoyed fishing trips with his wife, children and grandchildren, from Wisconsin to the far reaches of Canada and Alaska. With his wife, he truly traveled the world. Before other Americans even considered travel to China or the Soviet Union, the Hirsch’s went there. When traveling to Eastern Germany, Hungary or Poland, Israel, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Antarctica, he explored the globe as an ambassador of Chicago. After Margot died, he married Jan Matz, to whom he was married 8 years and who made him very happy.

Like Robert, you can create your Jewish legacy by including a bequest to the Jewish Federation in your will or estate plan. For more information, contact Legacies and Endowments at (312) 357-4853 or email: [email protected].

Ron Krit is manager of endowment development, Legacies and Endowments, for the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago.