Robert M. Siff ’48

Robert M. Siff ’48, of Palm Beach, Fla., formerly of Worcester, Mass.; Sept. 11, from Alzheimer’s disease. After completing his freshman year, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he helped liberate two concentration camps. Fluent in German and Yiddish, he also served as an interpreter for the military and earned a Bronze Star. After the war he completed his studies at Brown and went on to become president and CEO of B-W Footwear, Ambassador Shoe, and BWA International. He was also president and director of the Two/Ten National Foundation, the shoe industry’s philanthropic organization, and served as director of the Mechanics Bank of Worcester. Active in Brown affairs, he was secretary, vice president, and president of the Brown University Club of Worcester County and worked as a University fundraiser. He served on the board of directors of the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts, the EcoTarium museum of science and nature, Clark University’s Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and Worcester Jewish Healthcare Center, as well as being past director of the Worcester Area Association for Retarded Citizens. In addition, he worked for the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and has served on various fundraising committees for charitable, religious, and educational institutions. He was the recipient of the Two/Ten Footwear Foundation T. Kenyon Holly Memorial Award and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s Angels in Adoption Award, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts honored him by dedicating the Robert M. Siff State Square in Webster, Mass. He is survived by his wife, Shirley; son Larry ’84; daughter Karen Siff Exkorn ’82; a daughter-in-law; a son-in-law; and four grandchildren, including Emily Siff ’19, Andrew Siff ’21, and Matthew Siff ’21.