The family of Irvin N. Hirshfield gratefully acknowledges the outpouring of love, sympathy and appreciation.

Hello Dot and family,

We're so sorry to hear of Irv's passing. I enjoyed having Irv as a colleague and I'll never forget how he helped me get through the tenure process.

Love,

Chris Bazinet (and Erica Groshen)

Irv, it's been a week since the funeral and I feel like an open wound. I miss you every moment and wish you were here with me.

He was the best of everything -- the best husband, father, grandfather, uncle, cousin, brother, in-law, scientist, professor, mentor, tennis-partner, friend. He was my friend for 60 years and my husband for over 59 of those years, and I miss him.

It was a shock when several colleagues (Alison Hyslop, dean at SJU, and Richard Lockshin from the Biology Department) at St. John's Univ. let me know that Irv had passed.  I was at St. John's for some 40 years at St. John's in the Chemistry Department.  It was not hard to have a good friend like Irv for most of my time at SJU.  He has a great way to work and play.  Irv helped me do some biochemistry although I was an Analytical Chemist.  It got me a couple of published.
      More important was our sport on the tennis court.  It was many days having really good exercise outdoors.  Overall, Irv was a wonderful person to call a friend for many years.  I will miss him and I am sure a large number of others like him also.

Cherished memories 
Chicago, April 15, 2018

Dear Dot , 
Sending heartfelt thoughts to you and family.  Will cherish the many good times and occasions we shared. Especially enjoyed the many dinners and courtyard conversations.   Rabbi Tobin chose the right word. Irv was indeed a mensch . His memory is a blessing and in his name I have contributed to Temple Anshe Amunim,  knowing that social justice was a cause dear to Irv.  With love and both sympathy and empathy,  Joel

Zoe, Sabina, and Aunt Dorothy, 
There is a big gaping hole in all of the lives your father touched. We are all better for it.

The best parts of my childhood truly were when our families visited each other, either in NY, MD, or Toledo. What treasured times those were! I will miss Uncle Irv greatly!

Hold tight to your memories of him, they will sustain you.

All our love, Yael, Adam and Celia Konowe

Honoring a life of kindness and dedication, loving memories will live forever in our hearts. 
With deepest sympathy and prayers,
Ellie, Igor Singer

My deepest condolences to Dot & the rest of the family I pray GOD give you all strength, comfort and peace during this difficult time. RIP Irv

Dot & Irv enjoying Caribbean music summer 2023

Myself Dot & Irv the last night before I returned home to Trinidad

Thank you Dr.Hirshfield for being a wonderful teacher and mentor and friend throughout my stay at St.John and life. 
     Will always be grateful for taking me into your lab and turning me into the teacher and scientist I am today.

You will be dearly missed Dr. Hirshfield.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my dad in recent years. He and my mom came to see me play with the band AliveNKickin on New Year’s Eve 2012 at the Swan Club in Roslyn, NY. In this picture, he is out in the middle of the dance floor wearing one of his crazy ties, dancing around with a bunch of strangers and just having a great time. I would like to always remember him this way - tearing it up on the dance floor with a big smile on his face. I love you dad and  you will always be in my heart. ❤️

I came to St Johns as a 42 year old married  man with 3 kids and a full time job .  I was very worried that I  did not have what it takes  to complete a Ph.D. in Biology.    Dr. Irv Hershfield saw me wandering   on the second floor of St Albert's   hall with the look of a very worried   and frightened man .  He walked up to me and asked me if i needed help . I said  i   I need a lot of help .  I told him that i was worried about taking on this task that i might not complete. 
  He made that characteristic  smile  and told me  , "That is why you will  do it .   Just show up, do the  work  and don't' stop until you  are done."    
       Eight  years later ,  He sat in the room and watched me defend  my  dissertation .    He walked up to me and said congratulations  Dr. Altimari . 
       12 years later i returned to be an adjunct in Biology and am enjoying it  .    I have been associated with the  St. John"s  Biology department for 20 years now and consider it to be the  greatest  honor that I  could be on a faculty with a  man  like Irv  Hershfield 
He was a good man  and  will be missed.
All my love and prayers for him  and his family 
Michael Altimari  Ph.d

My sincere condolences to the family of Irv Hirshfield. I was one of the many students who was lucky enough to enroll in Irv's classes. He definitely sparked a lifelong interest in microbial genetics in me that decided my career. I have worked for many years in viral genetics and worked in developmental biology using many of the techniques I studied with him. I always loved his sense of humor and admired his great intellect. He was one of the nicest, most genuine people I have ever met and will be missed by anyone who was lucky enough to cross paths with Irv.

The announcement of the sad news of Irvin’s passing came to us at St. John’s yesterday, on Halloween. And I remember that when he was an active faculty member here, every Halloween, Irvin would appear in the corridors of St. Albert Hall in full clown costume. I thought, wow, a distinguished professor who had the humility not to take himself too seriously. From now on, every year on Halloween, I will think of Irvin, of his kindness, of his gentle nature, and most of all, of his understanding that it is always worth taking a minute to laugh at ourselves. May his memory be for a blessing.

I remember having Dr. Hirshfield for four classes in Graduate school at St. John's in 1978-1980 and remember him as a fair but tough Professor.  But, above all, as an excellent Professor!  I later went on to teach Biology at St. John's and used the notes I took in his classes in my own lectures because his courses were that informative.  I still have those notes to this day.  Later, I would run into Dr. Hirshfield and he always asked about how I was doing and took the time to stay in touch from time to time.  He will always be a credit to the Faculty at St. John's

Bill Malone
M.S., 1980

Dear Dot,

I am so sorry for your loss. My years in Irv's lab gave me a front row seat to witness the deep love that he had for you, Sabina, and Zoe. I have never known a husband and father who so completely gloried in his family and all of their accomplishments, their work and relationships. As Regina and I have raised our own children to college, and beyond, I have profited greatly by his example of where one's focus needs to reside.

In the days and weeks to come, you will all be in my prayers, and I pray that your deeply felt loss is assuaged by the love that Irv had for all of you, a love that was so very evident for all to see.

Warmest Regards,

Gerry Nadal

To the family of Dr. Hirshfield, 
I am so sorry for your loss!  Dr. H. was a wonderful and kind man.  I worked with him for many years at the St. John's University.  He always had time for students - to mentor and nourish their interest in science.   
With sincere sympathy, 
Jackie

I have known the Hirshfield's since I was 13 years old when I moved to Fresh Meadows. I often referred to him as my "dad" since I grew up without one.   I have to agree with everyone saying that he was a very kind and gentle man who would always listen. He will be extremely missed.

When Irv first joined the faculty we became friends for many reasons. We spent many happy moments together. 
Of all the comments I heard about as a faculty member he received by far the most “I love Dr. Hirshfield” comments, and the only one for whom that remark was often spontaneous and unsolicited. His dedication to his students and to his work was unsurpassed. He was a brilliant teacher and scholar. 

His devotion to his family was equivalent.
The twinkle in Dot’s and Irv’s eyes as they teased each other about their individual foibles was a joy to see. 

On the tennis court it was the same. He would turn into René Lacoste, the French tennis player who was so quick to move and gobble up balls that he was nicknamed “the crocodile”.
Everything he did, he did quietly but with great passion. 

Not knowing how many of his students were reached by various emails, I sent notes to several students and technical staff who knew him and for whom I still had email or facebook contact. Many responded, and their responses were virtually identical. Almost all began, “He was a good man.” I will pass the notes on to Dot, Zoë, and Sabina. 

Zahra adds that to her he was a great teacher, a great mentor, a great friend who was always there no matter what, and one who provided light on all occasions. 

We love you, Irv. We will miss you, will remember you, and cherish the memories.

Dear Hirshfield family,
So sorry for your loss! I have known Dr. Hirshfield as a fellow colleague from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He was a passionate scientist who was very encouraging of his junior colleagues and always had a ready smile. Here is a picture from 2012 when I organized a symposium to celebrate 10-year anniversary of the Institute for Biotechnology and Dr. Diana Bartelt was retiring.
Vijaya Korlipara

For a couple of years in the mid 2000s I served in the University Personnel Committee at St. John's with Irv and often got to sit next to him. During breaks we often chatted and so I got to know him a bit. Irv has been described by his colleagues at St. John's as kind, wise, selfless, and generous and those are the traits that came through in my interactions with him. I am very sorry to hear about his passing and offer my deepest condolences to his family.

I met Dr. Hirshfield initially when I was a MS student in the Biology department back in the 1990's.  He was one of the kindest professors I had the pleasure to learn with at St. John's.  I always had the feeling that he genuinely cared not only for what his students were learning but also how they were doing as people!  
When I graduated and then because a professor in the College of Pharmacy, our friendship continued.  He always found the time to stop and talk, ask about the career and the family.  He was a real gentleman and a scholar.  He was fiercely proud of his family and spoke lovingly of them when we would chat.
I'm glad that Dr. Hirshfield got to enjoy his life after retirement although I think he would have stayed to do science until he passed!
He will be missed greatly and remembered fondly.
Condolences to his family and loved ones,
Diane Hardej

Dear Dot, 
I am sorry for your loss. 
I have known Irv since I started teaching at St. John's back in 2016 but lost touch when I left in 2021 during the pandemic.  We were office mates for a while and shared many laughs and stories as we sat during office hours for students together.  When I met him, I know that he made a lot of dentists from among his undergrad students through a clinical mentoring he created.  I also met you,  Dot when came to visit and we all celebrated his retirement lunch together.  I will miss his kind spirit and humor.   
 With deep sympathy, 
Jiyun Kim (former colleague and friend)

Hi,
So sad.  I met Irv when he joined the department in the 1970's. Irv was such a positive pleasant person, always smiling and cheerful.
Irv was one of the few people in the department who supported me with my battles with the administration. That took courage and was appreciated.
I can remember the time Irv and I were on the same pick up side of a soccer match among graduate students and faculty. We won even though one of the students was actively involved with a local soccer club.
One of my first memories of Irv again was at Cunningham Park when Irv chased down a couple of ner-do-wells who were stealing 
food? off our dept. picnic table. My thoughts, "damn, that Irv can run!"
Time passes quickly....too quickly.  The biology department was an enjoyable place to work because of Irv's presence.

My sympathy to your family.

Sincerely,

Dick Stalter

Dot, this is from the department dinner in Williston Park on July 9, 2019. 
I keep thinking how kind Irv always was, and how nice he was to us when we first met him in 1989.
He helped so many people, students adored him. 
Irv really was one of the nicest, kindest and selfless people we know. It has been a privilege and a gift knowing Irv.
Ales was looking for a dark tie last night, and then we remembered Irv's cute biology ties and started crying.
With love,
Ivana and Ales

OBITUARY

Irvin Norman Hirshfield

March 30, 1940 – October 27, 2024

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