Louis Vincent Aronson II

Louis Vincent Aronson II, 97, passed away quietly on April 19, 2020 in Hackettstown, NJ. He and Joan Barbara Fisch Aronson, his wife of seventy-three years, have been residents of Heath Village Retirement Community since 2016. Prior to their move to Heath Village and since 1960, Louis and Joan lived in the Somerset Hills and neighboring Tewksbury NJ communities.

Louis, the child of Alexander Hoffman Aronson and Leona Lazarus Aronson, was born on January 18, 1923 in Newark, NJ. As a child and during the earlier years of his marriage, he lived in South Orange, NJ. In 1941, he graduated from Newark Academy, located in Newark, NJ. Louis continued with post graduate studies at the Severn School in Severna Park, MD before his admission to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. In 1946, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy. He served as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy. In 1947, he began work as a Methods Engineer at Ronson Art Metal Works, a company that was formed and incorporated in 1898 in Newark, NJ by Louis V. Aronson, his grandfather. In 1952, Louis became President of the company which had become known as Ronson Corporation, a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. At its height in the 1960s, Ronson Corporation became the holding parent of domestic and international consumer product (notably the Ronson lighter) and industrial product/service companies. During this period, Ronson’s global employment totaled over 7,000 people. Louis dedicated his professional life to Ronson Corporation until its dissolution in 2011.

Louis always held a natural inclination and interest for sports and physical fitness. As a child and young adult, he boxed and weight-lifted at the Newark Athletic Club. At Newark Academy and the Severn School, he played in the fullback and middle linebacker positions on his schools’ football teams. In track and field, the shot put was his event. He was an avid skier on slopes in the U.S. and Switzerland. He played tennis and jogged regularly. For decades, on Sundays during the fall and early winter, you would find Louis at Shea Stadium and later at the Meadowlands rooting for his beloved Jets.

During several summers in the 1930s, Louis spent his school year vacation breaks immersed in the daily life and chores at Sundown Ranch in Aripine, AZ. At the time, he often thought about becoming a rancher one day. As it turned out, he did own a dairy farm (Holstein cows) for decades while living in Lamington, NJ. He enjoyed photography. In the 1950s, Louis began flying fixed wing aircraft and later helicopters. Flying was his primary hobby and passion. Over the years, Louis was a director on the Board of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, a member of the U.S. Naval Academy Athletic Association, a trustee emeritus of Newark Academy, and a member of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, NJ.

Louis is survived by his wife, Joan Barbara Fisch Aronson, and his sister, Marilyn Aronson Hertz. He leaves behind four children: James R. Aronson, Robert A. Aronson (spouse Julia Bassett Aronson) , Kathryn

Aronson Caruso, Diane Aronson Bilgore (spouse Jeffrey B. Bilgore); and six grandchildren: Jennifer L. Aronson (spouse Raphael Alvarez), Suzanne C. Caruso, Alexander C. Aronson, Victoria L. Caruso, Andrew H. Bilgore and Katherine L. Bilgore.

In his honor, contributions may be made to a cause that is important to you.

A memorial service for family, friends and colleagues is planned to be held later this year in Short Hills, NJ, after the coronavirus pandemic has receded, and gatherings and travel are deemed unrestricted and safe.