Following his graduation from what was then the School of Optometry in 1937, Dr. Herschel A. Rubin returned to his hometown of East Liverpool, Ohio, and opened his practice in the rear of the jewelry store owned by his father, Leon Rubin. The next year, he married Elsa Alexander (OSU Class of 1938), whom he met at Ohio State. Dr. Rubin served in the Army Air Corps in California during World War II and then returned to East Liverpool, where he practiced until his retirement in 1985.
He was active in the community as a member of the East Liverpool Jaycees and Rotary Club, served several terms as a member of the city’s Board of Health, and spent many years as a Boy Scout leader. Following retirement, he kept up his office as a home for his model trains, which now fill the space once occupied by his optometric equipment and fitting room. Dr. Rubin continues to be a fixture in the community, where he frequently encounters former patients who happily tell him, “You made my first pair of glasses!”
Dr. Rubin and the late Elsa Rubin had two children. Elsa Rubin Efran (OSU Class of 1963) lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Dr. Jay S. Efran (OSU PhD 1963). Leon M. Rubin (OSU Classes of 1977, 1987) and his wife, Suzi Rubin, live in Dahlonega, Ga. Dr. Rubin has four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.