Herbert Dresher

Herbert Dresher, of Riverhead, died at his home on Aug. 5, 2015. He was 94. 

Born in Utica, N.Y. on Nov. 29, 1920, he was the son of Benjamin and Lena (Slakter) Dresher.

He attended Syracuse University before entering his parents’ furniture business in Utica and then joining the U.S. Army during World War II.

Dresher’s military service brought him to Camp Upton on Long Island, where he would meet his future bride, Frances Oppenheimer, of Riverhead at a USO function there. They were married on Oct. 12, 1947 and settled in Utica, but after a few years moved to Riverhead, where Herb went to work for his father-in-law at Ivan’s Shoes on Railroad Avenue. The Dreshers ran the shoe store until they retired in 2003.

“He had a lifelong thirst for knowledge,” his daughter, Deborah Weinberg said. “He took classes right into his early 90s.” Herb was a voracious reader and had an amazing aptitude for languages, she said. “He embraced technology and loved his computer.”

Herb lived a lifetime in service to his community. He was an active member of Rotary for nearly 54 years, having joined the Rotary Club of Riverhead on Sept. 6, 1961. Herb also served on the board of trustees of both Riverhead Savings Bank and Central Suffolk Hospital. He and his wife were active longtime members of Temple Israel. He was also a member of the Riverhead Masonic Lodge.

Herb was a ham radio operator, an avid photographer who developed his own film and an amateur magician. He enjoyed boating and traveling and, more than anything else, loved spending time with his family.

In addition to his wife Frances, he is survived by his daughter, Laurie Salvucci, of South Dennis (Cape Cod), Mass.; his daughter, Deborah Weinberg and her husband Glenn, of Phoenix, Ariz.; his grandchildren, Jennifer Bent and her husband Keith, of Burlington, Mass., Megan Klotsche and her husband Justin, of Wakefield, Mass., Ben Weinberg, of Pheonix, Ariz. and Sarah Weinberg, of Berlin, Germany. He is also survived by his great-grandchildren, Alexandra Bent and Jackson Klotsche; and by a sister, Ruth Cohen, of Utica, New York.

A funeral service will take place on Friday, August 7 at Temple Israel of Riverhead, 490 Northville Turnpike, Riverhead, Rabbi Michael Rascoe officiating. Interment will follow at Agudath Achim cemetery in East Setauket. Shiva at the family home beginning Saturday evening at 8:30 p.m.

Memorial donations may be made to Temple Israel of Riverhead or to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22478, Oklahoma City, OK 73123.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of I.J. Morris Funeral Home in Dix Hills.