Original article featured in the Asheboro Courier Tribune, November 26 2015.
ASHEBORO — Asheboro business owner Jeff Schwarz died Wednesday at the age of 75 after a long battle with leukemia.
Schwarz was the owner of Schwarz & Schwarz and known throughout the area for his vast knowledge of business. He has various land holdings throughout North Carolina and other states as well.
Asheboro attorney Jon Megerian started working as in-house counsel for Schwarz back in 1981.
“He was one of the smartest businessmen I’ve ever known,” Megerian said Thursday. “He was also remarkably generous — something people didn’t know about him. He would go to the county jail on Christmas Eve and post bond for 10 young men to get out of jail for Christmas. When he ran Biscuit Company, he would give biscuits away all over Asheboro and they never knew it was him.
“I guess he didn’t want it to hurt his reputation.”
In a 1990 interview, his brother and business partner, John, described Schwarz as the “best legitimate hustler around.”
Schwarz also gave $100,000 to the capital campaign for Randolph Hospital’s Outpatient and Cancer Center in 2007. Schwarz said in a news release at the time that his father had spent “considerable time” at the hospital. The donation aided Randolph Hospital in building the 58,000-square-foot facility.
Schwarz moved to Asheboro in 1953, when his father Lawrence, relocated the family south from New York in order to open a small factory. Schwarz also suffered from dyslexia, and as a result, dropped out of Asheboro High School.
“His math skills were astonishing — he was sharp and made very good deals,” Megerian said. “He had a tendency to insult people in power and then be very nice to people who didn’t have any power at all.
“I will miss him very much.”
A close childhood friend and business partner to Schwarz was Frank Auman. Their relationship was both personal and professional.
“I met Jeff when his family moved to Asheboro,” Auman said. “We have been best friends all of our lives. We bought our first duplex together when I was 21 years old. For 50 years, we were also partners in many real estate ventures. He was a talented businessman and a hard worker. At one time, back in the 1970s, he owned more post office buildings than anyone in the United States.
“Jeff really loved his family and had a very big heart. I’ve known him to many times hear about someone having a hard time and he would go drop off a basket of food to them.
“Jeff was just a great man with a big heart.”
Schwarz is survived by three sons and extended family members. He was buried the same day he died, according to Jewish tradition. There will be no public service.
