Harry E. Heller, who had careers in aviation engineering, advertising, and public opinion research, and a foray into snack food entrepreneurship before retiring to consult and write a novel, died on Dec. 29 in Philadelphia. He was 90 and had only recently been in failing health.
The youngest of five children born to Hyman Heller and the former Tessie Tannenbaum in Brooklyn on March 10, 1934, “he was a proud alumnus of James Madison High School and the City College of New York, where despite often cutting his own classes to go to art and poetry classes with a young woman with whom he was smitten, he earned an engineering degree,” his family wrote.
That woman, Annette Abraham, “eventually succumbed to his charms, leading to a wonderfully warm, loving, joyful, and adventurous marriage for 57 years until her death in 2014.” The couple traveled widely, “enjoyed cultural and artistic pursuits, and had a rich and rewarding family life.” They were active at Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor and were “enthusiastic supporters” of the Ellen Hermanson Foundation.
“I never had to look for a role model besides my dad,” his son, David Heller, said. “He modeled how to be a loving, supportive spouse, an unconditionally loving parent, an accessible and creative co-worker, a kind and generous employer and mentor, and a loyal and entertaining friend.”
“So many people reach out to say how brilliant and creative he was, but just as many comment on his mischievous spirit and the twinkle in his eye,” said his daughter, Lisa Heller. “He just really enjoyed life and found so many things interesting and exciting.”
In addition to travel he enjoyed skiing, sailing, cooking, fine wines and spirits, painting, photography, politics, theology, science fiction, sports (the Mets, Jets, and Islanders), and yoga. He was a presenter at the Limmud Jewish learning festival on topics that included Jungian archetypes in the Kabbalah.
Dr. Heller started his career in aviation engineering at the Bendix Corporation and went on to earn a Ph.D. in social psychology at New York University and to work as an advertising executive — in the “Mad Men” era, his family noted. He worked first at Kenyon & Eckhardt and then at Benton & Bowles, both in Manhattan. He eventually left advertising to found his own public opinion research firm, the Heller Research Group, in Port Washington, where he lived with his wife and children. He headed that firm for almost 30 years.
“His creativity and entrepreneurial bent was evidenced in the late ’80s when he and Annette created Harry’s Premium Snacks, a purveyor of Hampton Recipe kettle-cooked potato chips and other gourmet snack foods,” according to his family. When the couple moved full time to the house they had owned in Springs since the 1980s, he established the Research Consulting Agency, which was involved in marketing and opinion research. He was active in the Casro Institute for Research Quality and was inducted into the Market Research Hall of Fame in 2003. His family said that he “often consulted informally for friends and institutions to develop new products or broaden their reach.”
“It was no surprise to those who knew him that his intellectual curiosity, love of science fiction, knowledge of Jewish studies, and way with words resulted in the publication of his thought-provoking novel ‘A Journey With God: So Be It,’ ” his family said.
His son, David Heller, and his wife, Melissa Smith, live in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., and his daughter, Lisa Heller, and her husband, Harry Roth, live in Philadelphia. Also surviving are his grandchildren, Andrew Roth, Eric Roth, Michael Roth, Alexa Heller, and Jessica Heller, and his great-grandchildren, Avery, Daniela, Tate, and Julian Roth.
A funeral was held in Fairlawn, N.J., on Dec. 31, with interment at Riverside Cemetery in Saddle Brook, N.J.
His family has suggested contributions to Temple Adas Israel, P.O. Box 1378, Sag Harbor 11963, the Ellen Hermanson Foundation, P.O. Box 4098, East Hampton 11963, or to a “liberal and/or Jewish charity of the donor’s choice.”
