Joseph J. Lerner's Obituary
Joseph Lerner, entrepreneur, raconteur, philanthropist, husband, father, grandfather and all around great guy, died Monday at his home in Boynton Beach, Florida. He was 90.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 27, 1927, he was the son of Irving and May Lerner. He graduated from Erasmus Hall High School, served in the U.S. Army and earned a bachelor’s degree from Long Island University. He later went to work at the textile printing company, Velourit Corporation, founded by his father. After Irving died, Joe, his brother, Alvin, and their partner, John Viscardi, transformed Velourit into a highly profitable company.
Joe relished nothing more than a good joke or an amusing story, whether he was telling it or hearing it. He was a voracious reader, an avid sportsman and a connoisseur of the finer things in life. When he wasn’t working, he indulged his passions for theater, music, art, literature, stylish automobiles, flying and, first and foremost, his family.
Joe married the enduring love of his life, the former Isabel Isaacs, in 1953. She survives him as do their three children, Preston, Dorian and Craig, daughters-in law Emily and Renée, and three grandchildren, Anna, Elias and Maria. Other survivors include Alvin and Dorine Lerner and Edith and Ed Isaacs. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations be made to two of Joe’s favorite charities – Smile Train and the Wounded Warrior Project.
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