Joel S Rudich

Joel was born in the Bronx on November 13, 1936, the son of Sigmund and Rose. He was the beloved husband of Phyllis (Wish) Rudich for 62 years, and the adoring father of Lauren Sheinman, Debra Smul and Karen Rudich Izo.

Joel graduated from the Horace Mann School in the Bronx, received his BS in Management and Industrial Engineering from New York University in 1959, and his MS in Industrial Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1963. He also completed the Executive Development Program at The Ohio State University in 1992. Joel's formative years were mischievously spent at JHS 80 in the Bronx with a group of guys that remained his best friends till the very end.

Standing 6’3”, Joel was certainly a presence, but it was his big heart and personality that filled the room. He was a masterful storyteller, an encyclopedia of jokes and always quick to stump the unsuspecting with a riddle.

Joel’s career touched many industries and iconic corporations such as Lillian Vernon, Time Warner Cable, American Can, Singer Sewing Machine Co., and Xerox. As President of Coaxial Communications of Central Ohio, he was a pioneer of early cable television. He viewed his employees as family, keeping in touch with staff members and following their careers for many years after he retired. He was most proud of his philanthropic contributions, serving on the Board of Directors for the Nationwide Children's Hospital and Wexner Home for the Aged in Columbus, OH, United Methodist Children's Home of Decatur, GA, and as a tutor for low-income students in Palm Beach County. His legendary Penny-A-Day Drives and Olympic Pin Christmas Tree Auction generated tremendous funds for Children's Hospitals in Ohio.

A lifelong sports fan, Joel adopted the teams of Ohio, including the Indians and Buckeyes, but his heart always remained in the Bronx, at Yankee Stadium. He loved being a part of the world’s biggest stages attending several Summer and Winter Olympic Games, Super Bowls, NBA All-Star Games, and the World Series. He was a basketball referee for 30 years and was accredited by the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials. He also remained a lifelong member of the New York Two Sewers, his Bronx neighborhood stickball team.

Joel had a penchant for collecting things. Antique trunks and clocks, pachinko games, autographed baseballs, vintage movies, baseball caps, Olympic pins, and so many other things both large and small. It was not his intention to compile world-class collections of all things his loving wife Phyllis hated, but she allowed him to display them, as long as they were inside a room she never had to enter.

Joel always had a great respect for law enforcement. In later years, he was a volunteer at the Palm Beach County Sherriff’s Department. Armed with a badge and patrol car, there was nothing he enjoyed more than writing a parking ticket for illegally parking in a handicap spot. And he was as proud to tell you about it as he was to educate you on the virtues of bulk cable television for your community. His grandchildren say he handed out NY Police Benevolence stickers like candy.

He was predeceased by his sister, Claire. He is survived by his wife, Phyllis Rudich, his three daughters, Lauren (Steve), Debra (Peter) and Karen (Erik), his eight adored grandchildren, Danielle, Jake, Alex, Lucie, Jack, Sam, Sadie and Damek, three great grandchildren, and of course his three special girls, Max-E, Rox-E and Lulu.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Spectrum 360, 414 Eagle Rock Ave, Suite 200B Attn: Development Dept., West Orange, NJ 07052 or The Friendship Circle at FCNJ.com/Donate