Herbert Howard Raiffe

July 22, 1926 - March 14, 2022

On Monday, March 14, 2022, Herbert Howard Raiffe, loving husband, brother, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away peacefully at age 95. Herbert was born on July 22, 1926, in The Bronx, New York City, to Harry and Rose (née Shapiro). He was a proud graduate of The Bronx High School of Science, and after voluntarily serving in the Air Force during the Second World War, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from New York University. He met his future wife Rita (née Swedlin) while they were both vacationing at the same hotel in Miami Beach, and they were wed less than a year later in Manhattan on October 26, 1952. They settled in Oceanside, New York, where they raised their two sons, Lance and Bruce. They later moved to Far Hills, New Jersey, and for many years maintained secondary residences both in Manhattan, New York and Carlsbad, California. For the past 22 years, they lived in Boca Raton and Aventura, Florida. Herbert spent the majority of his professional career devotedly working at America’s oldest stuffed toy manufacturer Gund, Inc., first for his father-in-law, and then later serving subsequently as President and Chairman of the company for over 30 years. Herbert steered the company through the profound societal and economic changes of the last decades of the 20th century, moving its headquarters from Brooklyn, New York, to Edison, New Jersey in the late 1970s. As part of his work at Gund, Herbert pioneered the global expansion of the business, travelling extensively and establishing international operations in Europe and particularly East Asia, where he developed a deep appreciation for Japanese culture in particular. He studied Japanese language at The New School in the 1960s, and had several dear friends in Japan and Hong Kong. To all who knew him, Herbert had a larger-than-life personality and left no one he met indifferent. He was generous, kind, big-hearted and was always ready to share a story or to reminisce. He kept his good sense of humor intact until the end of his life and remained actively involved in several charitable and Jewish causes that were important to him. He enjoyed travel, automobiles, golf, pens, philately, American history, Jewish studies, and most of all spending time with his beloved wife and family. Herbert is survived by his wife, Rita, of 70 years, his loving sons Lance and Bruce, his sister Annette, his eight grandchildren, five great-grand-children, and two nieces. Service to be held Thursday, March 17, 2022 at 12:15 at Beth Israel Memorial Chapel, Delray Beach