Mortimer "Bud" Pearl dies at 85

Mortimer B. Pearl, a consummate family man, irrepressible joke-teller, and octogenarian with a full head of still mostly-dark, curly hair died peacefully on Sept. 7. He was 85.

A Brooklyn native, "Bud" and wife Shirley (Illions), also of Brooklyn, were local fixtures in Rockville Centre beginning in 1963. That was the year they moved from a tiny home in Valley Stream to a stately brick colonial at 51 Milburn Street with their three young daughters, Robin, then 10; Jayne, then 9; and Ellen, then 5 and their exotic dog, Solomon, an Afghan hound. They lived just down the street from Bud’s brother and sister-in-law, Judson and Selma Pearl, who still live in the village, as do their son, David Pearl and his wife, Gale.

Bud served in the Air Force during World War II, and was stationed in Guam. After he returned to the states, he met Shirley at a temple dance when she was 17 and he was 22. Bud worked two full-time jobs in the early years of their marriage to support his growing family. By day he was a salesman for a radiator business; at nights he worked in an office in his home getting his insurance agency off the ground. Gradually he worked fewer hours in the day job and more in insurance, until he was able to devote his full attention to his work.

Bud and Shirley had successful "his-and-her" companies next door to each other on Long Beach Road right across from the Pantry Diner: The Mortimer B. Pearl Insurance Agency and RVC Realty. Shirley started her company in the mid-1960s in a back room of Bud’s office. Soon her business grew and she purchased what was then a barber shop, which she transformed into an office that was able to accommodate her and her staff of about a dozen agents – all women. Each was licensed in the other’s profession, so they could operate the other’s company, just in case.

Active members of Temple Emanuel in Lynbrook, they loved living in Rockville Centre and felt it was a perfect community in which to raise their children. But to escape day-to-day pressures, they built a lake-front vacation home in Monterey, Mass., which their Long Island friends loved to visit. Many of them also built second homes in the Berkshires, as well. After Bud retired in 1980 at age 55, with the children grown, he and Shirley moved to the Berkshires and to a midtown Manhattan apartment. They developed an eye for quality, and loved to decorate, combining antiques with playful contemporary pieces and all sorts of artwork, both modern, classic and whimsical. Bud was also extremely handy, not only fixing whatever needed to be fixed, but also building structures from scratch, including two gazebos at his Massachusetts home.

An avid gardener, dancer and bowler, Bud belonged to the local bowling league for many years. After Shirley introduced him to tennis when they were in their 40s, Bud played well into his 80s, giving many local pros a run for their money well into his late 70s. He and Shirley loved classical music, opera and ballet as much as comedy and television game shows.

In the late 1990s, when Shirley became ill, Bud tended to her every need, caring for her for several years. He rarely left her side until her death in February 2004, after 53 happy years of marriage. Shortly thereafter, Bud moved part-time to Florida – first Boynton Beach, and then to Osprey, near Sarasota, to be near his companion of three years, Claudia Johnson. He maintained an in-law apartment attached to the home of his youngest daughter, Ellen Pollen and her husband, Cecil.

Bud suddenly and unexpectedly died at his home in Osprey. He is deeply mourned by his three daughters: Robin Pearl-Kargman, vice president of marketing research at The Estee Lauder Companies who lives in Woodbury; Jayne Pearl, a freelance writer and editor residing in Amherst, Mass.; and Ellen Pollen, an event planner, real estate broker (like her mother) and pianist, living in Lenox, Mass. Bud also leaves behind his brother Judson Pearl and half-brother Seth Pearl (from California), as well as four grandchildren: Chelsea Pollen, who works at Google in Cambridge, Mass.; Ryan Hommel, a musician; Brooke Kargman, a sophomore at SUNY Albany; and Tyler Kargman, a junior in high school.

A funeral service was held at Ahavath Sholom Cemetery in Great Barrington, Mass. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be make to the United Jewish Appeal or Edith Wharton's The Mount.