‘A one of a kind gem’

Marvin Zuckerman, owner Marvin & Sons, 90

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Businessman, philanthropist, musician and family man were the main elements that composed Marvin Zuckerman’s life. The Brooklyn native, who took a store in Cedarhurst from kitchenware to fine jewelry, died on Aug. 12. He was 90.
Born on Jan. 3, 1924 to Nathan and Rhoda Zuckerman, Zuckerman and his younger brother, Elliott, grew up in Kings County. Marvin, an accomplished jazz musician played piano, bongos and other percussion instruments. Later, he was an avid golfer and a member of the Woodmere Club for more than 35 years. Since 1989, Zuckerman lived in Florida.
He graduated from Music & Art High School in Manhattan (made famous in the movie “Fame”) and earned a degree from City College of New York. A demolitions specialist in the army’s Company C 288th Combat Battalion, Zuckerman also performed on the trap drums in a swing band during his service time.
In 1949, he opened Marvin’s “from nothing” his son, Michael, said. The store’s merchandise included pots, pans and a variety of gifts. A dozen years later, Zuckerman broke his leg and used the time to become a graduate gemologist and learned the making of fine jewelry. “He changed the direction of the store away from gifts,” Michael said.
In either carnation, the Cedarhurst store — 5,000-square feet with 100 employees — was a “mini Fortunoff’s tucked into the South Shore,” Michael said — flourished and Zuckerman became very involved in the community. He, along with Nicholas Farina, who later became village mayor, established the Cedarhurst Business Association that later morphed into the Cedarhurst Business Improvement District.

Not forgetting his love of music, Zuckerman was a huge benefactor of the Stecher and Horowitz Foundation, a nonprofit organization, that grew from the Stecher and Horowitz School of the Arts that was founded in Cedarhurst in 1960 by Melvin Stecher and Norman Horowitz. “When I first came to work at the Herald,” publisher Cliff Richner recounted, “Marvin Zuckerman was a leader in the business community. One day while working on an event for [Five Towns] Community Chest, Marvin shared his philosophy of supporting community groups: ‘I support everyone,’ he told me, and he did. Jewish groups, Catholic groups, Community Chest, whatever the cause, they knew they could count on Marvin for a raffle prize or a donation.”
In the 1970s, Zuckerman’s sons Nat, Bob and Michael joined the family business. Bob, who ran a wholesale company associated with what became Marvin & Sons, and Michael, a graduate gemologist like his father, now operate their own businesses: Zuckerman’s Jewelers in Merrick and Michaels Jewelry Designs in Rockville Centre. “He taught me everything he could, then let me run with it,” Michael said. “What more could a son ask for. He was a one of a kind gem, and can’t be replaced.”
A decade later, daughter Jamie and her husband, Robert Young, came aboard. Applying her computer expertise, Jamie updated the store’s method of tracking inventory. Zuckerman also built a jewelry factory in Bangkok — Gem Creations — that allowed the business to import directly and cut costs. “My father was a courageous, wise, talented and generous man who taught me many great lessons in life,” Jamie said. “Perhaps, the most important of which is ‘every knock is a boost!’ His ability to find strength and resilience throughout his life is the legacy that he passed to me.”
Marvin & Sons opened stores in Merrick in 2003 and a year later in Woodbury. In 2006, the family closed all three stores. “Marvin was a gentle giant in the world of jewelry and fine gifts,” said longtime customer Polly Van Raalte. “You could always find something for anyone no matter what age the person was. The landmark store in Cedarhurst is missed. He will be missed.”
In addition to his brother, sons and daughter, Zuckerman is survived by his wife, Joann, (the past 22 years) and former spouse Dorothy; daughters-in-law Lois and Nancy, grandchildren Scott, Michele, Brett, Ross, Sloane, Hanna and Ryan and great-grandchildren Landon, Shane and Dylan. Nat predeceased his father eight years ago. Marvin’s first wife, Janet, also predeceased him.
A memorial service was held in Boca Raton on Aug. 15. A service will also be held at Gutterman’s Funeral Home in Rockville Centre on Aug. 24 at 3 p.m. In lieu of gifts, the family requests that donations be made in Marvin’s name to either the Stecher and Horowitz Foundation or the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
“You’ll always be in my heart and mind until I meet you and my brother, Nat, in the new Marvin & Suns in the sky,” Bob said.