Jerry Zucker Obituary

ZUCKER, Jerry Mr. Jerry Zucker, businessman, inventor, philanthropist, leader, incredibly loving and devoted father, son, husband, and grandfather, passed away Saturday after a courageous battle with cancer at his home in Charleston, South Carolina. Jerry lived by the words of his father, the late Leon Zucker: A man should not be measured by his years, only by his deeds. Though only 58 years old, Jerry led a very full life in which he touched everyone with whom he came into contact, with his brilliance and generosity. President, chairman, CEO and founder of The InterTech Group, Inc. and Governor and CEO of Hudson's Bay Company, over the past 35 years he has served in R&D, engineering, marketing and operations management positions at various levels and used this diversity and wealth of experience to build his own thriving business and to help improve the world. He has over 350 invention disclosures that resulted in numerous patents and commercially successful products and processes worldwide. Mr. Zucker served as Chair of the South Carolina Aquarium, Chair of the Jewish Studies Advisory Board of the College of Charleston, President of the Coastal Carolina Council Boy Scouts of America, South Carolina Chair for the Anti Defamation League Southwest Region, Co-Chair of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance, and is a member of the American Chemical Society, AMA, Beta Gamma Sigma Honorary Society and TAPPI, and served on the boards of MUSC Foundation for Research Development, Hotline for Charleston (now 211 United Way), American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Hebrew Orphan Society, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, Regional CEO Council, Lowcountry Graduate Center, and Palmetto Partners for Science and Technology, among others. Son of Zipora (Shlifkovitz) Zucker and the late Leon Zucker, Jerry was born in Tel-Aviv, Israel on August 24, 1949, following Israel's War for Independence. He immigrated to Charleston via Ellis Island with his parents and older brother in 1952. He spent his childhood in Charleston, South Carolina; Highland Park, New Jersey; and Jacksonville, Florida where his parents lovingly taught and helped found Jewish day schools. Mr. Jerry Zucker attended the University of Florida where he triple majored in Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics and later went on to receive an M.S. in Electrical Engineering. On June 21, 1970, he married his high school sweetheart, Anita Goldberg, with whom he enjoyed nearly 38 beautiful years of marriage. Widely known as a scientific genius, Mr. Jerry Zucker's first major invention was his high school science project, A Revolutionary Phase Factor for Colinear Electromagnetic Waves, technology which was used as part of the first lunar landing module. A true lover of science, Jerry relished the years he spent working in his laboratory on his many inventions. However, his truest love was for his family. Mr Jerry Zucker is survived by his wife, Anita; his children, Jonathan Zucker (Laura), Andrea Muzin (Nicolas), and Jeffrey Zucker; his mother, Zipora Zucker; his brother, Jacob Zucker; his sister, Rochelle Marcus; his granddaughter, Stella Muzin and grandson, Jeremy Zucker. Funeral services were held on Sunday, April 12, 2008 at Two o'clock in Synagogue Emanu-El. Burial followed in Emanu-El Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Jerry Zucker Endowment Fund of the Jewish Endowment Fund at the Coastal Community Foundation, 90 Mary Street, Charleston, SC 29403 or to the Coastal Carolina Council of the Boy Scouts of America, 1025 Sam Rittenberg Blvd., Charleston, SC 29407. Arrangements by J. HENRY STUHR INC., DOWNTOWN CHAPEL. Visit our guestbook at www.charleston.net/deaths.