Joel Asarch, a New York State Supreme Court justice from Long Beach, died from a heart attack at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside on Sunday. He was 60 years old.
Born in Brooklyn in 1952, Asarch graduated from Baldwin High School and earned a law degree from New York University and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania. He was elected to Nassau County District judge in 2000, appointed acting county judge and elected to the state Supreme Court in Mineola in 2006, to oversee guardianship cases for people who were deemed incapacitated, according to Newsday.
Asarch’s wife, Malky Asarch, said about her husband:
"There is nobody with a bigger heart. He's taking care of people who couldn't take care of themselves -- people who are declared incapacitated, elderly people or children. . . . He'd come down off the bench -- with funky cartoon ties and being warm and personable -- he was able to reach out to these people."
Fran Adelson, vice president of the Long Beach City Council, was sworn into office by Asarch at the inauguration ceremony at City Hall on Jan. 1, 2012.
Asarch is survived by Malky, his mother Helen Asarch of Long Beach, son Steven Asarch, daughter Michelle Asarch, and sisters Sharon Asarch, of Los Angeles, and Ilene Asarch, of Needham, Mass.
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