Joel Sherman, Former Nat Sherman Owner, Passes Away

Joel Sherman, the former ceo and owner of Nat Sherman, passed away on Monday at the age of 85.

He was born on Aug. 2, 1939, the son of the company’s founder, Nat Sherman. He began working for the family’s store in the 1960s though left before returning in the 1990s. He served as ceo until early 2017 when the family sold Nat Sherman to Altria, the tobacco giant that sells Marlboro cigarettes in the U.S.

For a few years following the acquisition, some parts of Nat Sherman remained the same. Altria bought the company for some of its cigarette brands but it kept the other parts of the Nat Sherman business—a retail store, cigars, pipes and accessories—going and kept much of the existing staff.

In 2020, those non-cigarette businesses were shut down. Nat Sherman was probably best known for its Manhattan retail store, though the location itself moved around multiple times. The final store—on 42nd Street, around the corner from the New York Public Library—closed in September 2020. That also marked the end of the Nat Sherman-branded cigars, which had just six years before released a Joel Sherman-branded cigar in honor of his 75th birthday.

The cigar and pipe brands were purchased by two former Nat Sherman employees—Michael Herklots and Brendon Scott—who sell the lines today under the Ferio Tego name.

“Mr. Sherman’s love and generosity were truly boundless,” said Herklots in a statement to halfwheel. “His quick smile and sense of humor, combined with his genuine care for others, made him an incredibly special, irreplicable and unforgettable person. He will surely be missed but his legacy will no doubt live on in the countless lives he touched and made better.”