Herbert F. Aspbury, a longtime resident of New Canaan, CT and of John’s Island, Florida died on Tuesday May 12th aged 81.
Herbert F. Aspbury
Herb spent his career in banking. He joined Manufacturers Hanover Trust in 1967. After leading MHT’s North American division in New York, he became the London-based head of Europe for Chemical Bank following the merger of those two institutions in 1992. After a subsequent merger, he retired from Chase Manhattan as the Senior Managing Director for Europe, Africa and the Middle East in 2000.
After retirement, Herb returned to Connecticut and served on numerous boards, both corporate and non-profit. He was chairman of the Royal Oak Society, the American affiliate of the English National Trust, and was vice chairman of the Vero Beach Museum of Art’s board of trustees.
In addition to donating his time, Herb was a generous financial supporter of numerous charitable causes. Among them were the Block Island Nature Conservancy, the Vero Beach Museum of Art, the Public Broadcasting System and his alma mater, Villanova University, where he and his wife endowed a scholarship.
Herb obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Villanova in 1967 and graduated from Harvard Business School’s Program for Management Development in 1980. A proud alumnus of Villanova, he received an Alumni Medal for outstanding and extended service to his alma mater in 1992. He joined the Alumni Association board of directors in 1994, spending two years as its president. He became a member of the university’s Board of Trustees in 1999 and was honored to be elected its Chairman in 2007.
Herb was born in Millbrook, New York, the youngest of three children to James T. and Helen (nee Mulholland) Aspbury. In addition to his parents, he is predeceased by his brother James Aspbury, Jr. and Helen Anne Ballantyne. He is survived by his widow, Mary Victoria (nee Doran) and his three children: Matt Aspbury of Emeryville, California; Peter Aspbury (husband of Alex) of London, England; and Pamela Byrne (wife of Jeff) of Darien, Connecticut. He also is survived by his six adoring grandchildren.
For all his accomplishments, there is no doubt that the one of which Herb was most proud was his marriage of fifty-seven years to his wife Vicki. Throughout the darkness of Alzheimer’s, his love for her shone brightly to the end.
A celebration of Herb’s life will be held at Saint Aloysius Church in New Canaan on Friday, the 22nd of May at 10:30am. For those wishing to honor his memory, contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s Association of Indian River County, Center for Memory and Movement.
I worked for Herb in Chase London. What a gentleman. So sorry to hear of his passing.
I worked for Herb at MHT in the early ‘80’s. A genuinely decent guy. Sending sincere condolences to his family.
I am sad to learn of Herb’s passing. He was my mentor and friend at MHT and Chemical. While I lost touch with him over the years, he was always in my thoughts. My memories are my smile. Rest in peace dear friend!
I was deeply saddened to learn of Herb’s passing. I was fortunate to work for him at MHT in the 1980’s. He was always supportive, and I learned a great deal from him. We connected again years later when my son Mark attended Villanova. Our family sends its deepest condolences.