Allen Bildner, industry pioneer of over 50 years, passed away on Feb. 5th at age 88.

Allen was born in Maseph, NY in 1926 and shared 64 years with his late wife, Joan Lebson Bildner. He was the former CEO and Chair of the then family-owned Kings Super Markets, which has since been sold to Marks and Spencer, the former Chair of the Food Marketing Institute, as well as a past Chair and Founder of the New Jersey Food Council.

A respected leader in the Jewish and secular communities, Allen served on for-profit boards such as the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, the Maltz Jupiter Theatre in Florida, Yankee Sports and Entertainment Network (YES), New Jersey Bell and Seton Hall University, and more.

He received numerous awards from his alma mater Dartmouth College, where he graduated with his MBA, among which included the Dartmouth Alumni Award, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Social Justice Lifetime Achievement Award of Dartmouth College, honorary doctorates, and several others.

Allen co-founded of the Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life at Rutgers with his wife, Joan, who attended Rowan University and Bloomfield College.

Mourned by family, friends, and communities in New Jersey and Florida where he lived and served, Allen is survived by his loving children, sons Rob and Jim, daughters-in-law Elisa and Nancy, grandchildren Elana, Lizzie, Ari, Eli and Rafi, as well as by his sister, Phyllis Schechter. He is predeceased by a grandson, Peter.

Funeral services will be held at 1:30 pm on Sunday, February 8th at Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel, 432 Scotland Rd, South Orange, NJ 07079. The family requests that in lieu of flowers donations may be made in his memory to the Joan and Allen Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life, Rutgers University, 12 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, Washington, DC 20024 and the Maltz Theater, 1001 E. Indiantown Rd., Jupiter, FL 33477.

AndNowUKnow would also like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the Bildner family and friends during this difficult time.