Herbert R. Schwartz

PORTLAND - PORTLAND – Herbert R. Schwartz, 76, loving husband, father and friend, local interior de- signer, businessman and longtime resident of Portland, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2006 following a brief illness. Herb was born and raised in The Bronx, N.Y., the youngest of eight children, born of Abraham and Rosa Schwartz originally from Budapest, Hungary. Herb is survived by his loving wife of 38 years, Donna (Larrivee) Schwartz; daughter, Jan and son-in-law Gene Kunitomi of Calistoga, Calif.; grand-daughter, Sage Mears of Los Angeles, Calif.; and sister, Dorothy Karg of Norwalk, Conn. He was predeceased by his beloved daughter, Rebecca Rose on Feb. 11, 2002. Herb was rich in extended family including his father-in-law Gerry Larrivee of Westbrook; sister and brother-in-law, Paula and Andy Burbank of Yarmouth; many nieces and nephews and a large community of close and dear friends. Herb attended schools in The Bronx and graduated high school in Charleston, S.C. He studied at The Cooper Union and got his first job in the furniture industry with S. Karpen & Brothers in Manhattan. When Karpen moved its operations to Chicago, Herb chose to relocate to Maine at age 25 and that's when his love affair with Maine began. He was employed as an interior designer by Lancaster Furniture Company, and later by Young's Furniture. In 1965, Herb established his own design firm, Herbert R. Schwartz Associates, on Pine Street in Portland. In 1970 he and Donna purchased the Daniel Howe House on Danforth Street, the second oldest historic landmark building in Portland. They restored the property and operated their interior design firm from this location for 25 years. They later purchased and restored another historic building, the Nutter House on Pleasant Street. These were the first of several renovations/restorations of their own historic properties in Portland, Great Diamond Island and Wells. Herb personally and professionally gave new life to so many old buildings in Maine - today they stand as his lasting legacy. And, as an interior designer, over the span of his professional career, he did countless residential, commercial and professional interiors, up and down the east coast. In later years he and his wife and daughter, along with his in-laws, Olive & Gerry Larrivee became involved in owning and operating Sleepytown Motel and The Captain's Table restaurant in Wells for 20 years. After selling the business he then became involved in a project he was very excited about, Maine Micro Furnaces/Energy By Waste Inc. As a child Herb would beat his older siblings in games of bridge and chess. As he got older he took to the streets playing baseball, stickball, King of The Mountain and Barcelona Won't Fall. He eventually took up pool under the guise of billiards (his Father didn't approve of pool) and excelled in any and all card games and games of chance; his favorite card games being poker and more recently Texas Hold'm. Luck always seemed to ac- company him! Since Herb was a natural athlete, it didn't take him long to discover the zen of golf which he thoroughly enjoyed throughout his adult years. As a young man when he wasn't playing golf he was playing volleyball. In essence, Herb was “A Player” from Nathan Detroit to Minnesota Fats to Arnold Palmer, so says close friend and golfing buddy, Jim. Herb was larger than life both in stature and in sensibilities and gave life to those who knew him -through his love of fine things, most notably art, music (Broadway show tunes & jazz), theatre, food, drink and extensive world travels. Herb was a gracious and generous host. He was enthusiastic and exhilarating; generous and warm. In short, Herb was a mench - a decent person, someone of consequence. And, as much as Herb loved art, he loved politics. His love of art and Democratic politics converged when he raised money for U.S. Senator Bill Hathway's first campaign by commissioning and selling screen prints from local artist John Legere. He also served on the Campaign Finance Committees of Congressman Kyros, Governor Curtis, Senator Mitchell and Senator Muskie. At one point in time, although he was not the largest contributor, he was the largest fundraiser for the Maine Democratic Party. In addition to his fundraising, Herb designed and staged all major campaign functions in the 1970s and 1980s. Herb was called upon to curate the first Temple Beth El Arts Festival. His personal art collection was so extensive that he started to rent his own art and sculpture to the residential and commercial clients for whom he designed interiors. A true patron of the arts, defender of civil rights, advocate for progressive politics, protector of those he loved - all this he did with an inimitable wit. He will be truly missed. Visiting hours are from 4-8 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 23 at Jones, Rich & Hutchins Funeral Home, 199 Woodfords Street, Portland. A memorial gathering is planned for a later date.
A donation in Herb's name may be sent to:
The Maine Democratic Party
P.O. Box 5258
Augusta, Maine 04330

or

The Anti-Defamation League
40 Court St.
Boston, MA 02108

or

The Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Ave.
Montgomery, AL 36104

His family is also proud to note that Herb was a donor to the New England Organ Bank.