Marcus Milton Hirsch

Marc Hirsch passed away in Baton Rouge on September 7 surrounded by family. He was 81. Marc was a New Orleans native and graduate of Fortier High School. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in the College of Mechanical Engineering at LSU, then served honorably in the United States Air Force during the Korean War, retiring at the rank of Captain. He returned to Baton Rouge to work for Barnard and Burke Consulting Engineers as a mechanical engineer specializing in refinery design. Several years later, Marc formed his own business and became a licensed contractor, developing and managing large, multi-unit garden style apartment complexes, many of which served the growing LSU student population. In this role, he also helped found the Apartment Owners and Builders'Association of Greater Baton Rouge. In the 1980s, his interests expanded to construction of airplane hangars around the country as well as to the development of industrial parks. Two of the latter are in Lafayette and Ascension Parish. Marcus Hirsch also delighted in actively leading philanthropic institutions in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. He was co-founder and incorporator of the Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge for which he served as President. He also served on the Board of Visitors of Episcopal High, the Board of Congregation B'nai Israel, and the Baton Rouge Symphony. At his death, he was a member of the Board of the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana. Marc loved to travel. Among his most colorful memories from trips to global destinations was an incident in 1973 when his American tour group to Israel was taken hostage in the Sinai Desert soon after cessation of hostilities in the Yom Kippur War. It was an adventure with a happy ending and a story he loved to tell thereafter. Marcus Hirsch was preceded in death by his parents, Annette Phillips Hirsch and Abraham Adler Hirsch, and three siblings, Augustus Samuel, Bernard Henry, and Caroline Amelie. He is survived by a loving family including his wife of 58 years, Rachelle Dreyfus Hirsch, and their two sons, their wives and children: Dr. Howard Scott Hirsch and Marcia (Providence, RI) and Dr. Jeffrey Alan and Rabbi Sherre (Los Angeles) and seven grandchildren (Reuben, Madelaine, Olivia Hirsch of Rhode Island and Emet, Eden, Alia, Levi Hirsch of Los Angeles). He is also survived by his sister, Marjorie Hirsch Meyer of Houston. Before his death, Marc requested that, in lieu of flowers, interested friends might direct donations to the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Greater Louisiana, B'nai Israel Synagogue, the Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Visitation will be at Rabenhorst Funeral Home on Government Street Tuesday morning, September 9, with services to follow at 10.30 AM. The family will gather in prayer at B'nai Israel synagogue on Wednesday, September 10, at 6.30 PM.