Sherwin Earl Small

1929 - 2021

February 7, 1929 - April 28, 2021 Sherwin Earl Small passed away in Westlake Village, Calif. Wednesday, April 28, 2021, after a well-lived life of 92 years. Sherwin was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 7, 1929, the first child of Charles and Min Reibman Small. He grew up in Chicago and graduated from Parker High School. Sherwin was drafted into the Army during the Korean War and left the Army after his required two years of service. He then began a five-year program in Architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and graduated in 1956. After moving to Los Angeles, Sherwin began his architectural career employed by Kite and Overpeck Architects and subsequently was asked to join a newly formed company, National Medical Enterprises. Sherwin was licensed in California and other states to act as architect in the construction of hospitals and medical buildings across the country. Beginning in 1969, he headed the Construction and Design department with responsibility for design, construction and equipping of numerous hospitals in the U.S. and abroad. He retired from National Medical Enterprises as an Executive Vice President in 1993. During the summers while he was attending Illinois Tech, Sherwin took a position with the Forestry Service in Montana where he worked to maintain trails and forestry facilities with fire fighting responsibility as well. He loved his time there and revisited the area in later years. Travel for work and leisure brought Sherwin great pleasure, especially when coupled with experiencing a wide variety of food. His love of food and cooking took him to cooking schools in Italy numerous times. He delighted in recalling the contents of meals he had loved all over the world, in great detail. Sherwin's last day on this earth was spent doing what he loved, having a nice lunch with a friend. After retirement, he joined with Project Management Collaborative, LLC, doing consulting for a time, but then retired completely, spending much of his time reading and studying. For the past decade, Sherwin was very active in Shomrei Torah Synagogue where he enjoyed the pleasure of continued learning through classes he attended and discussions, over lunch, with close friends. He joined the San Fernando Valley Woodworkers and delighted in participating in making toys for their annual holiday donation of hundreds of toys to charities for children in need. Sherwin is survived by his wife of thirty-four years, Marjory Taylor Small, his sister, Doris Small Vinik, brother Neil Small, nephew David Vinik, nieces Susan Vinik Consales (Kevin), Rebecca Page (Edward), Cindy Perez (Larry), Lori Munday (Greg), Marjorie King (Dave), Michelle Gentrup (Brad), as well as numerous great nieces and nephews and one great, great nephew. He will be greatly missed by his family and the many friends he loved and held close to him from far and wide. Funeral services were held for Sherwin May 2, 2021, at Mount Sinai Memorial Park, Simi Valley, Calif. Donations in honor of Sherwin can be made to the Sherwin E. Small Endowed Scholarship Fund at Illinois Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, 10 W. 35th St., Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60616 or to Shomrei Torah Synagogue, 7353 Valley Circle Blvd., West Hills, CA 91304.