Emil Herman Ginsberg, an icon of the Cedar Rapids area jewelry community and a prominent leader in several civic and business organizations, passed away April 20 at the age of 99.
“Known as ‘Herman’ to just about everybody, from his grandchildren to strangers on the street, (Mr.) Ginsberg was the third-generation owner of a family business, Ginsberg’s Jewelers, one of Cedar Rapids’ longest-running retail businesses,” read a portion of Mr. Ginsberg’s obituary. “(Mr.) Ginsberg, with the help of his brothers and later his son, ran the business since 1948, through countless downturns, booms, and the 2008 flood. Not one for retirement or relaxation, he worked into his mid-nineties, greeting visitors and holding court on the sales floor. Interacting with and learning about others of all backgrounds always gave him energy and joy.”
Mr. Ginsberg was born in Sedalia, Missouri in 1926. He moved to Cedar Rapids with his parents in 1930 and graduated from Franklin High School (now Franklin Middle School). He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps (later the Air Force) and later became a private pilot based at the Cedar Rapids Airport.
“According to (Mr.) Ginsberg’s account, he graduated in the morning, lunched with his family at midday, started at the store in the afternoon – and never left,” Mr. GInsberg’s obituary reads. “He ran the business with his father and brothers, who at one point operated five locations in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Des Moines. His son Steven joined the business in 1993, and the pair led the business through recessions and the 2008 flood.
“Before the flood, (Mr.) Ginsberg was a fixture in downtown Cedar Rapids as head of the family’s retail and real estate businesses and was a member or leader of numerous civic/business organizations, including the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club, Literary Club, Linn Phoenix Club, and was a fifty-year member of the Mt. Hermon Masonic Lodge #263. Like many other merchants and boosters, (Mr.) Ginsberg was deeply and personally shaken by the flood after working and investing for decades to sustain the downtown area. In 2009, he and his son Steve relocated the store to the Market Place on First Shopping Center.”
In an email to the CBJ, Steve Ginsberg shared that his father was “always willing and interested in moving forward.”
“He never wallowed in the past, and he never yearned for any ‘good old days,'” Steve Ginsberg said. “He was forward thinking. In business, he always looked at the bottom line. Every activity he did in the store affected the bottom line. And if he felt that some activity or purchase did not affect the bottom line positively, he didn’t pursue it. He was also ultra-sensitive to efficient operations of the business. He attempted to economize every activity – bookkeeping, record-keeping, tag-writing, even conversations. He used as few words as possible to communicate. Several times I heard him talking with a vendor on the phone complaining that they were talking too much and taking too much time to say something. When I first computerized our inventory and POS system, he said challengingly, ‘You’re going to slow me down.’ Yet he did understand that computerizing the business was the way to progress and efficiency, and he welcomed that.”
In a 2023 CBJ story announcing the closing of the physical Ginsberg Jewelers store, which continues to operate as an appointment-based service, the following company history was provided:
“Ginsberg Jewelers was founded in Cedar Rapids in 1930 by Isadore (Izzy) Ginsberg, son of Charles Ginsberg (formerly Ginzburg), who had emigrated to the U.S. from Russia. Izzy came to Cedar Rapids to purchase the inventory of Rozen’s Pawn Shop from its then-owner, a recent widow.”
At its outset, “Ginsberg’s was a combination pawn shop, jewelry store and department store, selling many different items, appealing to a large consumer base and audience.”
The store relocated several times and expanded in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s “into a five-store chain, with two stores in Cedar Rapids, one store in Iowa City’s Sycamore Mall, and two stores in Des Moines.” They also replaced the pawn shop fare in 1971 “with fine jewelry, crystal, silver, and Swiss time pieces.”
“In 1984 the five store chain disjoined into three separate entities with the death of (Izzy’s son) Lou Ginsberg,” who along with siblings Herman and Stanley comprised the third generation of Ginsbergs to own the business.
Mr. Ginsberg was also a leader of the Cedar Rapids Jewish community, holding several leadership roles at Temple Judah.
His survivors include his children, Julie Brusen, Steve Ginsberg, and Tom Ginsberg, several grandchildren and a great-grandchild. His wife of 43 years, Phyllis, preceded him in death, as did his brothers, Stanley and Louis.
A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 24, 2025, at Temple Judah in Cedar Rapids. A shiva will be held at 7 p.m. April 24, also at Temple Judah.
