Nathan Fishman

Nathan Fishman, 95, of Long Branch died Nov. 10, 2013. He was born and grew up in Jersey City and maintained a summer home in Elberon since the 1950s, permanently moving from Elizabeth to Long Branch in 1990.

Mr. Fishman was a lawyer in private practice, starting in Jersey City and then moving to Union. He remained in active practice into his 80s, with an office in Elberon.

He was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of New York University, and received his law degree with honors from Harvard Law School.

He was among the first to be drafted in 1941, and he went directly from law school to service as a private in the Army in the months before Pearl Harbor. He left the Army as a Captain in 1945, having fought with his unit from the Normandy beaches in June 1944 to the Elbe River and the final defeat of Germany in May 1945. A fire control officer for field artillery, he was in the midst of all the major battles of that campaign, including Patton’s sweep through Normandy, the battle for Paris, the battle of Huertgen Forest, and crossing of the Rhine and the final battle in Germany. He was among those who stopped Hitler’s last major offensive at the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, and was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery in leading his unit during that critical battle.

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He and his wife were very involved with the Elberon Library, and with his son Clifford were instrumental in its transition from a private institution to a branch of the Long Branch Free Public Library. His library service is marked by the “Nathan Fishman Room” in its new addition.

He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Ruth Eisenberg Fishman; three sons; Robert of Elberon, Clifford (Carole) of Rumson, and Mitchell (Lois Rowe) of West Windsor; his daughter, Joan Fishman (Gregg) Lerner; and six grandchildren.

Services were held Nov. 12 with arrangements by Bloomfield-Cooper Jewish Chapels, Ocean. Memorial contributions may be made to Elberon Library, 168 Lincoln Ave., Elberon, NJ 07740, Attn: Fishman Fund; or The FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, 3300 Rt. 66, Neptune, NJ 07753, Attn: Fishman Fund.