For the first 14 years of his life, Robert Kleinberg slept in the kitchen of his parents apartment on East Tremont Avenue in the Bronx. He was born in 1937 to Al, a sheet metal worker, and Lillian (née Fox), a working mom who would continue doing so into her 90’s. He finally got his own room when his parents moved to Mount Vernon, where he attended Davis High School, and where he began to flourish academically.
Shortly before his 17th birthday he boarded The Wolverine for Ann Arbor, and what would become his beloved University of Michigan (Go Blue!). Intending to leave with a dental degree, he quickly swerved to being an English major. It was a better fit educationally, and having discarded the pre-med requirements, a better fit socially. Instead he did the next best thing and roomed with a dentist named Irwin Miller (Let’s Go Rangers!). Who, in addition to fixing his teeth and eventually those of his children, was also an excellent guide to the non-academic side of UM.
Next came Columbia Law School, where he would meet life-long friends Stan Beiley, Bob Dubow, Marcia Dunn, and Marty Gold. In addition to three years of trying to discern the difference between de facto and de jure, there were a lot of late night parties, many of which began with ‘Moanin’ by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers.
In summers during this period, Robert would work for his father as a sheet metal assistant during the day, and then at the Ruppert Brewery on East 91st Street in the evening. Shortly after law school the military called, and he was sent to Fort Eustis in Virginia. Other than basic training they took it pretty easy on those with JD degrees. With both the sergeants and the lawyers wondering what the latter were doing down in Southern Virginia given the gap between wars.
Early in law school, Robert would also meet his wife, Luise, whom he would marry in 1962.
They moved to Stuyvesant Town shortly after, where their two children, Andrew and Jeanine, were born three years apart. Which led to a home purchase in the suburbs in 1969.
Having grown up in a small apartment, 24 Overton Road in Edgemont NY, a late 19th century Victorian house, was Robert’s dream. There were ample grounds and he became an avid gardener, and his years of working with tools came in handy in maintaining a lovely old home.
As for the rest of the domestic duties, they were split upon the classical lines for a single-income family. But make no mistake, Luise’s efforts in keeping up the back end played a very large role in Robert’s achievements on the front end.
After a brief attempt in private practice, Robert went to work for the SEC. Several years later he would land at Tessler, Paturick, & Ostrow (TPO), a bond brokerage in need of some cleaning up. Fortunately he was given the green light by Arthur Paturick, the first of several bosses to give him the support he needed. The next stop was White Weld & Co., which according to Wikipedia was “a small, well-connected New York investment bank by the twentieth century and a bastion of the WASP establishment.” There he was taken under the wing of his boss Steve Hammerman, and also got a chance to experience other facets of the brokerage business. Those would include working on the IPO of Federal Express, and a visit to their massive hub in Memphis where they were taken to a field one night to witness the company's air division of cargo planes landing one by one with packages from all over the country, reloading, and then taking off again.
Three days after the FedEx IPO, White Weld was taken over by Merrill Lynch. With the last name of Kleinberg, Robert had an interesting vantage point from which to observe the Wall Street version of ‘The Troubles’ play out. Needless to say, the combination wasn’t the smoothest transition, nor was it the last merger he would be a part of where cultural differences nixed any possibility of synergies.
The three years he spent at Merrill were a mix of exploration and frustration, but by this time his experience and reputation were becoming well known, and in 1981 he was recruited to be the General Counsel of Oppenheimer & Co. The timing coincided with Wall Street’s emergence from a big slump, and he helped guide the firm through a tremendous period of growth - ex a few zags - which would continue through his 17 years there.
He also met some wonderful people at Oppenheimer, and also a few characters. In the former camp, was his co-pilot running the legal department, Joyce Kramer. Who in the typical Kleinberg way would remain a life-long friend whose ties extended to the next generation.
Despite the heavy work-load over the decades, more often than not Robert would be on the Five-something PM to the Scarsdale train station. A trip which in the 1970’s and 1980’s was sandwiched between an un air-conditioned subway car from Wall Street to Grand Central, and then a mountainous climb up Ardsley Road. Every day. In the heat of the summer. And the freezing temperatures and ice of mid-winter. In a suit and tie. And dress shoes. That is the definition of love.
The extended family was also an integral part of Robert’s life. His aunts and uncles struggled together in the Bronx, and their kids were a large part of his social life and upbringing. As a married adult, this manifested itself in Thanksgiving, where the tight-knit family of 40-50 would gather every year, first at 24 Overton Road, and in later years at Little Mountain.
In addition to family, Robert gave back to the community, unthinkingly and before it was a de rigeur line item on a linked-in page. Typical of these assignments were the years he spent on the Greenburgh Planning Board. Nothing sexy, but requiring competence - not always a sure thing, as well as being uncompromised and having an understanding of both sides. He would go on to lend these skills to The Tenement Museum, The Folk Art Museum, Tanglewood, the NYLPI, and the NASD.
As empty-nesters, Robert and Luise moved back to Manhattan, where he traded in a daily commute for the more enjoyable weekend commute to his second home in Austerlitz, NY. There were a lot of dinners, and a lot of parties, and a lot of close relationships formed in both locales.
In the beginning of the 21st century, grandkids came into the picture. Cecilia, there’s only one first. Jake, a grandchild but also his true friend. Annika, with whom he probably shares the most traits. Liliana - so, Robert had a way of calling every relative’s second child ‘the other one.’ Your name he always knew, and you too shared a special trait that evinces itself every single day: it’s only dessert if it’s chocolate.
Given Luise’s cooking, Robert would eat most things, but if there was a burger or a steak on a restaurant menu that was what he would choose. And he didn’t need much goading from his kids to stop at Carvel on Central Avenue in Hartsdale.
He came of age in the Mad Men era, cue martini, and scotch on the rocks. And before that it was probably beer in Ann Arbor. But by pure coincidence he lived up the road from a small liquor store in downtown Scarsdale called Zachy’s, which focused on wine. And by pure coincidence he had a spare room in his home’s cellar. Over the next half century a lot of good bottles of wine were consumed.
We’re coming to the end, but in some ways a new beginning. Luise would pass away in 2013, a crushing blow to Robert - in whose life and success and happiness she was so inextricably entwined, to her kids, to her extended family on both sides, and to all their friends. In his latter years he would work his way through biographies and the NYT crossword puzzle, people watch in Central Park and the steps of The Met, eat ice cream, bask in the glow of his grandkids, and root for the Wolverines.
Robert Kleinberg left us on April 21, 2023. For a ‘boy from the Bronx’ he led a very good life. Of equal importance, his actions, his guidance, and his kindness has allowed many others to lead a better life.
Information regarding a Memorial Service in celebration of Robert’s life is forthcoming.
The family would like to thank Oma Radday and Leah Kennerley for taking such good care of Robert in his final months and years. We would also like to thank the entire staff at 1016 Fifth Avenue, we really appreciate your keeping an eye out for Robert over the years.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Community Bots or Promise Village Academy"
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