Stanley R. Gumberg (May 30, 1927 – February 16, 2009) was an American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and sailor. He was chairman of J.J. Gumberg Co.Pittsburgh Post Gazette: "Obituary: Stanley R. Gumberg / Real estate developer, philanthropist (May 30, 1927 - Feb. 16, 2009)" by Elwin Green
February 9, 2009
February 18, 2009

Biography

Gumberg was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

on May 30, 1927, the son of Lillian (née Zimmer) and Joseph J. Gumberg.Pittsburgh Tribune: "People skills spelled success for developer" by Jerry Vondas
February 18, 2009 His father operated a real estate brokerage, J.J. Gumberg Company, which he founded in 1923. His wife owned and operated bookstores in the Pittsburgh neighborhoods of

Squirrel Hill Squirrel Hill is a residential neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The city officially divides it into two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost universally treated a ...

(where Gumberg was raised) and Shadyside. After graduating from

Taylor Allderdice High School Taylor Allderdice High School is a public high school in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It opened in 1927 and is part of the Pittsburgh Public Schools district. It was named for industrialist and Squirr ...

, he joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

where he served as a medical assistant. Using the

G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

, he graduated with a B.A. from

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...

in 1950 and then went to work for his father's firm. In 1964, after building the Quaker Village shopping center in Leetsdale, the focus of the company shifted to development. Thereafter, he presided over the development of some of the region's first shopping malls and expanded out of the state via a relationship with

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

. At the time of his death, Gumberg controlled over 15 million square feet of retail properties in six states including the malls at Pittsburgh's Waterworks, Clearview Mall in Butler, and

North Hills Village North Hills Village is a retail complex on McKnight Road in Ross Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, owned by J.J. Gumberg Co. since 1986. It was opened as a strip mall in 1957, with Gimbels as its center piece anchor tenant ...

. Buncher belonged to the older generation of Pittsburgh real estate developers––such as Edward J. Lewis,

Joseph Soffer Joseph Soffer (1913 – June 13, 2006) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. Early life and education Soffer was one of four children born to a Jewish family in 1913 in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, the son of Lena (née Haber) an ...

, Jack Buncher, and

Leonard Rudolph Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin '' L ...

––who conducted business with a handshake.

Philanthropy

Gumberg was active in donating to educational and Jewish causes. Gumberg served on the board of

—where the

Gumberg Library The Gumberg Library houses the collections at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and comprises more than a half million print volumes. History The Duquesne University library system began in 1878, when what was then known as the "Pi ...

is named in his honor—for over twenty years. He served as chairman of the board of Montefiore Hospital and presided over its sale in 1990 to form the Jewish Healthcare Foundation. He also served on the boards of

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

(where he utilized his construction aptitude to oversee over $100 million in new projects);

Seton Hill University Seton Hill University is a private Catholic university in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Formerly a women's college, it became a coeducational university in 2002 and enrolls about 2,200 students. History The school was founded in 1885 by the Sist ...

; Westminster University, and the

Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...

Horse racing

For over 40 years, Gumberg owned and operated the

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racing stable,

Skara Glen Stables Skara Glen Stables is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm in Pennsylvania owned by Stanley and Marcia Gumberg and family. A small farm situated in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, it was named for the Skara islands north of Scotland. Skara Glen got ...

Greensburg, Pennsylvania Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city lies within the Laurel Highlands and the ecoregion of the Western Allegheny Plateau (ecoregion), W ...

. Famous progeny include Cinnomon Sugar, Weekend Madness, Red Roses Story,

Jazil Jazil (February 11, 2003 – October 11, 2014) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In 2006, Jazil dead-heated for fourth place in the Kentucky Derby but then won the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown. Connections Ja ...

and

Rags to Riches Rags to riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, and in some cases from absolute obscurity to heights of fame, fortune and celebrity—sometimes instantly. This is a common archetype in literature and popula ...

, along with the hunter, Corsani, and show jumper, Chinita.

Personal life

He married Marcia Morgan soon after graduating high school; they had three sons: Ira, Lawrence, and Andrew.The Jewish Chronicle: "Stanley R. Gumberg"
retrieved April 16, 2017 , ''"devoted father of Ira (Anita) Gumberg and Lawrence (Ina) Gumberg, of Pittsburgh and Andrew (Christy) Gumberg of Ft. Lauderdale, FL"'' Gumberg and his wife were avid collectors of art and his wife chaired the board of the

Carnegie Museum of Art The Carnegie Museum of Art, is an art museum in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Originally known as the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute and was at what is now the Main Branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsbur ...

. The couple were members of Rodef Shalom Congregation in Shadyside, Pittsburgh. He died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

on February 16, 2009, at his home in

. His son Ira J. Gumberg, purchased the family interest in J.J. Gumberg Co. from his two brothers and serves as its chairman and CEO; he is married to Anita Courcoulas. Gumberg's son, Lawrence, is president of Pittsburgh-based LG Realty Advisors Inc; he is married to Ina Gumberg.The Jewish Chronicle: "Friendship Circle celebrates seven years of ‘friendship’ in the Burgh"
2013 Gumberg's son, Andrew, is president and CEO of Fort Lauderdale-based Gumberg Asset Management Corp; he is divorced from Lorraine Abruzzo and since remarried to Christine "Christy" Ann McMullian.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gumberg, Stanley 1927 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American philanthropists American chief executives American investors American racehorse owners and breeders American real estate businesspeople Businesspeople from Pennsylvania Businesspeople from Pittsburgh Deaths from lung cancer in Pennsylvania United States Navy sailors