Herbert Berlin Silver

Herbert was born on June 18, 1936, in Augusta, Georgia, the oldest child of Bernice and Sam Silver. Herbert attended both Houghton and Monte Sano Elementary Schools in Augusta before he moved to New York City for junior high school to further his jewish education, attending PS 193 in Brooklyn for 6th and 7th grades. He then returned to Augusta to be Bar Mitzvahed and began high school at Richmond Academy. In 1954, Herbert began studies at George Washington University, where he served as President of the TEP House and was named Regional TEP Man of the Year. He was also a member of the GW Student Council as well as the Gate & Key Society, and was listed in Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, all before graduating with a BA in Foreign Affairs.

After GW, Herbert attended the University of Southern California Law School, where he served as Class Secretary and as a graduate student RA at TEP House. In 1959, he married the woman he would spend the rest of his life with, his high school sweetheart from Augusta, Temma Zipper.

Admitted to the California Bar in 1961, Herbert began his career working in Los Angeles, before opening a private practice in the San Fernando Valley.

During this time he also served in the Airforce Reserves as a medical cleric and cook. But most who knew him would often laugh at this, since no one had ever seen Herbert type or cook.

A man of great resilience who could find humor in almost any situation, Herbert – to absolutely no one’s surprise – was twice elected President of his local community’s Optimist Club. He was also an avid storyteller and never at a loss for words. Strangers would quickly become friends as Herbert would regale them with stories of his experiences from today and long ago.

Herbert and Temma had three children, Martin, Beth and Brett, who they raised in Calabasas, and six grandchildren. Herbert took pleasure in treating his grandkids (and their parents) to family trips together every year – Iceland, Costa Rica, and Alaska just to name a few – helping the young ones form bonds that will last a lifetime.

In 1984, seeking fresh challenges, Herbert bought Textile Transfers, Inc., a manufacturer of heat applied transfers. A few years later he moved his family – and the business – to Greenville, South Carolina, where he changed the company name to Graphix Int’l. Over the next two decades, Herbert maintained his robust law practice while also growing Graphix into the largest manufacturer of tennis ball logos in the world, moving the factory to Thailand in 2005. Always full of energy, Herbert was still making several trips a year to Thailand to oversee the business well into his early 80’s.

Throughout his life, Herbert was devoted to Judaism and to his local community. He served as the President of both Temple Beth Kodesh in Los Angeles and Congregation Beth Israel in Greenville, South Carolina. He parked cars in the pouring rain at Carolina Panthers games to raise money for the temple and in his late eighties volunteered at the Gravity Center as an Entrepreneurs & Mentor Adviser, in Rock Hill, SC.

Herbert will be remembered as a fanatical, lifelong sports fan – he absolutely loved watching and talking about sports. He attended the first Super Bowl in 1967 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; went to some of the first games the Dodgers played in LA after moving from Brooklyn; and was a Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Raiders season ticket holder (which was a sticky situation when they were both home on the same weekend). After moving to Greenville Herbert became a devoted minor league baseball fan and season ticket holder of the Greenville Drive. He relished the chance to debate the merits of his favorite teams – the USC Trojans, the LA Dodgers, the Atlanta Braves, and the Carolina Panthers, and he loved competing against the family in the college and NFL football pools.

Herbert was no stranger to personal tragedy, enduring the death of his younger brother Harold early in life, as well as his beloved son Martin, and eventually his lifelong partner, Temma. Through it all, Herbert demonstrated an indomitable spirit, believing life should be lived in the present. Above all he was devoted to supporting his family and friends, and in a life filled with accomplishments, that is perhaps his greatest legacy.

Herbert is predeceased by his parents, his wife Temma, and his son, Martin. Herbert will be missed by his daughters Beth Goldman (Jeff) and Brett Watson (Cory); his daughter-in-law Lisa Silver; his grandchildren Megan and Mia Silver, Emerson and Ellis Goldman, and Ben and Avery Watson; and his sister Nancy Barry (Donald) and brother Gerald, along with his many extended family and friends.

Burial and graveside services took place on Monday, June 29, 2026, at Magnolia Cemetery in Augusta, GA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in Herbert’s memory be made to the charity of your choice.