Waterfronts Walks are made possible thanks to a generous gift in memory of Robert Auerbach.
Bob Auerbach was a lifelong Brooklynite, no matter how far away his path took him. Born in Williamsburg in 1947 to Victor, a dry cleaner, and Hilda, an immigrant from Warsaw, he was raised on Kings Highway in Flatbush with his brother, Gabe, and sister, Donna, and attended James Madison High School. After graduating from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, he received an MBA from Long Island University and worked as a chemical engineer. Bob moved to South Jersey, where he raised two children, Glenn and Karen, with his first wife, Marsha. In his early twenties, he developed lifelong friendships with John Bravo and Paul Weisberg. He became a lifelong mentor to Lenny Mandel through the Big Brother Big Sister program and served on the board of its Philadelphia chapter.
In the late 1990s Bob moved to California and worked for KEMA Registered Quality. He was active in Kehillat Israel synagogue in Pacific Palisades, where his second wife, Sheryl Lewart, was a rabbi. He volunteered for a mentoring program, becoming a mentor to Angel Hernandez. But his heart never strayed from New York, especially Brooklyn. Beginning in the 1980s, Bob took part in the USPS’s Operation Santa program, and he took pleasure in surprising families in New York with Christmas gifts through the program. His lifelong love was the Brooklyn Bridge, attending its centennial in 1983. He wore a Brooklyn Dodgers hat until his last days. Bob loved stamp-collecting, bookstores and chocolate. Later in life, his work allowed him to travel to Europe and Asia, and he traveled frequently with his partner, Ellie Novick. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2019.
Bob was a loving father, husband, brother and partner; grandfather to Madeline Ottewell; stepfather to Judy Amidor and Mark Shulewitz and grandfather to their children, Ohr, Eitan, Lea, Phoebe and Tillie; mentor; and friend. He will be remembered for his playful and adventurous spirit, curiosity, and unfailingly positive attitude.