Obituary: Joshua D. Shubin

Joshua D. Shubin, son of Minna and David Shubin, died peacefully at home Nov. 29, 2020, surrounded by his family.

Born in Atlantic City, Josh spent his early years in Philadelphia and his high school years in West Palm Beach, Fla. He graduated in 1948 from the University of Florida, where he was a member of Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity.

In 1944, at the age of 18, following his college freshman year, Josh volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps. Josh was an aerial gunner on a B29 crew with a rank of staff sargeant. Stationed on Guam, he flew 25 missions over Japan, awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal three times.

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Josh and his father David were the ultimate patriots. Although David had already served his country in World War I as a naval officer, at age 52 he volunteered to again serve in World War II. He was commissioned as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, serving in the Atlantic and Pacific. Providentially, Josh and his father were in the Pacific Theater at the same time.

In 1948, after graduating from college, Josh returned to Philadelphia and began a career in retailing. While working at Lit Brothers, he met Marilyn who was also in his training program. They were married in 1951, and in 1952 a career move took them for 10 years to Cleveland, where their children Deborah and Lewis were born.

In 1962, Josh accepted a position with Davison Paxon, the Macy’s affiliate in Atlanta. After several years with Davison’s, Josh decided to embrace his entrepreneurial spirit. He was an early pioneer in the embroidered sportswear business.

Josh was a Renaissance man with a broad range of interests. He was motivated by humanitarian and cultural issues. The Jewish and general community benefited from his service. Members of The Temple since the family’s arrival in Atlanta, Josh served as a board member and officer of the congregation.

For many years Josh was involved with the Atlanta chapter of B’nai B’rith International, the Gate City Lodge, and served as president at both the local and state level. He also enjoyed serving for many years on the author selection committee of the Atlanta Jewish Book Festival. His civic interests included the Atlanta Clean City Commission, the Atlanta Union Mission and the Better Business Bureau.

Family and friends were central to Josh’s life. Those relationships brought him great satisfaction and happiness. He was a people person who appreciated meeting new folks whenever possible and sharing interests including travel, books, history, music, theater, opera, sports, art, politics and anything avant garde.
Gardening was a passion of Josh’s. He transformed his backyard of woods into a magnificent perennial garden and it evolved into his retreat, where he could spend hours in personal reflection.

A highlight of his retirement years was the ability to travel the world with Marilyn. They particularly enjoyed collecting art on their travels and found the travel experience enhanced by their interest in all mediums of art. In addition, they spent 20 winters in California, where Josh honed his tennis and hiking skills.
Over the last many years, Josh was a fixture at the West Paces Ferry Starbucks, had a Saturday morning coffee group, a Romeo’s lunch and regular study groups. A run to get a morning coffee became a daily circle of lasting friendships for which the family is most grateful.

After growing up as an only child who was deprived of the joy of a larger family, Josh felt overwhelmingly grateful for a marriage of over 69 years to Marilyn; two children and their spouses Lewis and Joanie and Deborah and Anthony; grandchildren Robert Shubin (Leigh), Molly Shubin Light (Andrew), Jared Levinson (Melissa), Leslie Levinson; and great-grandchildren Levi, Charlie, James, Josie and Lennie. Other loved ones of Josh are the Hockstein family, including brother-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews. Donations in Josh’s memory may be made for Impact Israel (Yemin Orde), www. impact-israel.org), the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, www.jewishatlanta.org, or Zaban Paradies Center, www.zabanparadiescenter.org.

A private family funeral was held Dec. 1 at The Temple in Atlanta. Arrangements by Dressler’s, 770-451-4999. To sign the online guest book, www.dresslerjewishfunerals.com.