Sheldon A. Gross

Sheldon was born on July 2, 1928 at Beth Israel Hospital in Newark, New Jersey to Meyer and Nathalie Gross. Soon after his birth, Sheldon moved into a house in South Orange, and except for attending college at the University of Illinois and vacationing often in his beloved Berkshires, he continued to base his home in or near South Orange for most of his life.

Sheldon spent the earlier part of his career in his father’s business H.E. Salzberg Company which operated bus lines, railroads and even the trolley that ran across the Queensboro Bridge before it was taken over by the NYC MTA. Sheldon also had a short stint owning the Scientific Wood Cabinet Company which made cabinets and wooden pocketbooks for women, among other things.

Eventually, in or around 1958, Sheldon sold the cabinet-making business and noticed the potential business opportunities in real estate when he sold that business’s building. As a result, Sheldon’s knowledge and passion for New Jersey blossomed into a long and successful career as a real estate professional, culminating with his creating the renowned Sheldon Gross Realty, Inc., specializing in selling and managing commercial real estate. Notably, the firm’s logo is a big G centered around an outline of the state of New Jersey.

Sheldon was preceded in death by his first wife, Simone Lipton, his second wife of 55 years and his soulmate, Charlotte Gross and his two brothers Richard and Peter Gross. He is survived by his children Barbara Gross Franklin (Michael), Jackie Gross (Stuart Siris), Jonathan Gross (Elisa) and Marcy Gross Glick (beloved partner Matt Ruggiero), as well as five grandchildren, Adam Goodkind, Lorah Goodkind, Travis Gross, Alexandra Gross and Jennifer Glick. He is also survived by his devoted and loving partner Sheila Slutsker.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Sheldon’s memory to the Adam Goodkind NF2 Family Fund at the Children’s Tumor Foundation, https://join.ctf.org/give/163231/#!/donation/checkout and designating the donation to go to the Adam Goodkind NF2 fund or the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation, https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/UnitedCerebralPalsy .