Murray S. Dobro

Murray Saul Dobro, loving husband of Barbara Dobro and father of three, passed away from COVID at the age of 91. He was a resident of Livingston, NJ for many years before moving to Crane’s Mill in West Caldwell.

Born on May 6, 1928, in Boston, MA, to Samuel and Sarah Bornstein Dobro, Murray (aka Mashe) enjoyed growing up in Dorchester, where he made lifelong friends. He received his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Northeastern University and served in the Korean War as a chemist. Although he grew up in a kosher home, Murray developed the modern method for curing ham. He worked for decades in the meat manufacturing industry before starting JCS Sales (named after his children), a food brokerage business that he ran for over 40 years, supplying Quick Check and supermarkets all over the country with JCS’s Livingston Farms ham, among other products. In 1953 he married Barbara Diane Edinger, and together they raised Jeffrey, Carrie and Stuart Dobro.

Murray adored golf, his family, The NY Times crossword puzzle and Baskin Robbins orange sherbet, and he opined that Acme was the whitefish brand of choice. He was an active member of Maplewood Country Club, where he proudly won several golf championships, chaired the food committee and reveled in the friendships he made. In recent years, he attended lectures at Congregation Agudath Israel in Caldwell multiple times a week and relished in discussing them, outlines in hand, with his family and friends.

A natural mentor and storyteller, Murray was beloved for his crinkly-eyed smile and sincere interest in nearly every person he met. His signature move was to pat the sofa where he sat, beckoning you to sit next to him and tell him all about your life. Then he’d listen with great interest and complete concentration, making you feel that you were the most important person in the room. In short, he was a spectacular and well-loved man.

Murray was preceded in death by his father, Sam, his mother, Sarah and his brother, Danny. He is survived by his wife Barbara; his three children, Jeff (Candace), Carrie (Mark) and Stuart; his two granddaughters, Sarah and Dolyn (Zach); a grand dog (Sherman) and numerous cousins.

Click the link below to join the Zoom Funeral Service at 12:00PM, Wednesday, April 29, 2020.