Isadore Goldhirsh

Isadore Goldhirsh died on June 11 at the age of 99. A respected computer engineer and mathematician, he worked primarily for Auerbach Company, a Philadelphia-area defense contractor. In that capacity he traveled to Europe and Israel as a consultant for American and foreign governments.

Mr. Goldhirsh was born in South Philadelphia, the third of six children, and as a teenager moved to the Parkside neighborhood of West Philadelphia. Upon graduating from Overbrook High School in 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Army for service in World War II. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and when the war ended, relied on his German fluency to guard Nazi prisoners.

Upon returning home, Mr. Goldhirsh utilized the GI Bill to obtain a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from Temple University both in mathematics. He then ventured to Los Angeles and became one of the first computer engineers at the Lockheed Corporation.

In 1959, Mr. Goldhirsh married Gloria Plone, renowned in Philadelphia as a pianist and piano teacher until her death in 2014. They were longtime members of Old York Road – Temple Beth AM in Abington, Pennsylvania. When the COVID pandemic struck in 2020, Mr. Goldhirsh moved to California and lived on an alternating basis with two of his daughters.

Mr. Goldhirsh is survived by daughters Martha (Robert) Rotman Snider of Palm Desert, California, Dorrie (Phil) LaMarr of Los Angeles, California and Eve Goldhirsh of Philadelphia, as well as a sister-in-law, Phyllis (Stephen) Lishnoff. He leaves four grandchildren, Benjamin and Madeline Rotman and Isaac and Nadya LaMarr, and two stepgrandchildren Abigail and Claire Snider.

Funeral services will be held at 12:00 noon Sunday, June 16^th, 2024 at King David Memorial Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania.