Roll Call Tribute

Sherwin Bernard Rubin 

August 8, 1932 - December 12, 2023 

Sherwin Bernard Rubin, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and devoted boyfriend, age 91 died at his home Tuesday morning, December 12, 2023. He was 91. He was born in Fort Worth, the son of Ben and Gertrude Steinberg Rubin.

An avid athlete, Sherwin spent his life skiing, on snow and water, biking; he was a 25-year member of the “Rusty Chain Gang” bike club and rode 75 miles a week through his 90th birthday; swimming and riding just about anything with a motor, particularly airplanes, motorcycles, and speedboats. An engineer, through and through, his office was filled with models and photographs of the many aircraft he’d ushered through completion as a technical liaison/project manager at General Dynamics and later, Lockheed Martin where he ran their Tel Aviv office for five years. He was quick to a song, and listening to music (and singing along) was one of his greatest joys which continued to his very last days. He also had a preternatural rapport with cats of all stripes and a corresponding love for them.

Sherwin attended Texas A&M University on a swimming scholarship, and graduated with honors. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force and later became a civilian pilot and flight instructor. He married Barbara Goodstein after the two met as camp counselors at Blue Star Summer Camp in North Carolina. They eventually settled in Fort Worth in 1956 where they raised three children.

He was active in the Fort Worth Jewish community, and was among those instrumental in establishing the Dan Danciger Jewish Community Center in 1964. He was a member of Congregation Ahavath Sholom of Fort Worth, Congregation Beth Shalom, Arlington, and Congregation Har Shalom, Fort Collins, CO. He was also a member of the Isadore Garsek Lodge of B’nai Brith, where he was honored as the 1983 Man of The Year. He served as the vice-president of the Jewish Federation of Fort Worth and Tarrant County. He was an enthusiastic volunteer with the Girl Scouts and the YMCA, and generously supported numerous charitable organizations throughout his life.

He is preceded in death by his parents, and his brother David H. Rubin.

He is survived by the love of his life, Susan Held (to whom he proposed weekly) and with whom he enjoyed 26 years of passion, adventure, travel, and joy. He is also survived by daughters, Janice Rubin (Charles Wiese) and Nina Rubin (Hillel Katzir), and son, Paul Rubin; and grandsons, Nicholas Vaughan (Jake Margolin), Jacob Wiese, Joshua Rubin; great-grandson, Whit Margolin-Vaughan; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A Funeral Service will be held at 11:30 am Thursday, December 14, in the Kornbleet Memorial Chapel, located in Ahavath Sholom Cemetery, 411 N. University Drive. Following committal prayers, he will be laid to rest in the cemetery.

For religious reasons no flowers may be accepted. Please consider Sherwin’s final wish for the continuation of Jewish youth education. Memorial gifts can be made to the School Building Fund at Congregation Har Shalom (nocoharshalom.org) or to the charity of your choice.