Herb Carver

Herb Carver, 83, of Barnstable, MA, formerly of Newton, on Wednesday, January 13, 2016. Herb devoted his life to bringing joy to others. Among those who shared his life with him and who will hold him dearly in their hearts are his beloved wife of 61 years, Dorothy, his children Ilene, John and Alan and their spouses, his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and many other extended family members and cherished friends.

One of Herb’s defining traits was his tendency to build lifelong bonds with everyone who entered his orbit. Everyone was family in his eyes, which meant that everyone was on the receiving end of his unrivaled generosity. Holiday buckets of popcorn, tickets to the Red Sox, Swiss Army knives bearing his company’s name — such were the tokens of his charitable spirit which were doled out readily to anyone who shook his hand. Herb was the consummate family man. Nothing gave him more pleasure than spending time with his loved ones and this was true right up to the very end of his life.

Another unmistakable aspect of Herb’s life was his incredible work ethic. He worked for many years at the Atlantic Corporation, a commercial finance and real-estate business started by his late father-in-law, Rubin Epstein. Later, he left Atlantic and started Carson Limited on Cape Cod, where he continued to work even after he was no longer able to drive himself to the office. Herb had a passion for helping the underserved and he dedicated much of his time to garnering support for organizations that enriched his life. He actively supported a large number of nonprofit organizations and foundations over many years, including Horizons for Youth and Cape Cod Symphony. He graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and got enormous pleasure from bringing together his fraternity brothers and friends for his legendary Penn-Harvard brunches every other year for over 40 years. Herb’s quick wit and convivial nature were always on full display at social gatherings and family events. His signature contribution was a personalized rhyme modeled after “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere”—a colorful toast to the person or occasion being celebrated. In some of these rhymes, he would manage to work in all the names of the family members who were present. His humor, amiable personality and flair for storytelling made him the life of many a party.

The family is enormously grateful to the caregivers from Liberty Commons as well as the extraordinary, devoted, and immensely compassionate professionals provided by the Cape Cod Hospital Foundation who have provided such exceptional care to Herb during the course of his long illness. The Carver family is especially grateful to Deborah Umbrello, Herb’s most devoted and loving administrative assistant of 20 years.

The service will be held on Friday, January 15, 11:30 am, at Temple Emanuel, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA and will be followed by burial at Kovner Cemetery, 776 Baker Street, West Roxbury, MA. Family and friends are welcome to visit at Herb and Dorothy’s family home in Barnstable on Friday afternoon following the burial, on Saturday, from 5-9:00 pm and on Sunday between 1-4:00 pm and 7-9:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to The Cape Cod Hospital Foundation, 32 Main St., Hyannis, MA 02601 or to The Cape Cod Symphony.