Hundreds of mourners crowded Temple Beth Ahm in Springfield Friday to remember Peter J. Herzberg, an attorney and a former president of Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union, who died on Wednesday, Nov. 14.

Herzberg, who lived in Westfield, was 57, and had cancer for many years.

Stanley Stone, executive vice president of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey, recalled Herzberg's many years of service to the Jewish community, and like others, remembered his grasp of the issues.

After trying to persuade Herzberg to serve on the federation's board ever since the two men met 14 years ago, Stone said he was delighted when just this past year Herzberg finally agreed to be nominated and was appointed to the board in June. He had also served as president of the Jewish Community Center of Central New Jersey in Scotch Plains during its capital campaign, before becoming increasingly involved with Solomon Schechter, the Conservative day school in West Orange and Cranford.

"When we met, he struck me at once as a community leader," Stone said. "He had a depth of knowledge and an incredible mind. He could dissect any problem. Even when he wasn't on the board, he was always someone I could turn to for advice and good counsel. And he was someone who had his priorities right: He was a devoted husband and father and a real role model."

Herzberg is survived by his wife, Superior Court Judge Lisa Chrystal. Their twin daughters, Ilana and Arielle, are in 11th grade at the school. Son Benjamin, a Schechter graduate, is a freshman in college. Herzberg is also survived by his mother, Annelie, brother, Steven, and five nieces and nephews.

Joyce Raynor, Solomon Schechter's head of school, worked with Herzberg when he was board president.

"He was a delight to work with," Raynor said. "Jewish education was so important to him — that Jewish kids learn and become caring, knowledgeable, committed adults. He was passionate about the school. And he was a wonderful person, an all-round mensch, and that quality always came through. He had a very open mind and was always willing to listen to the other side in any discussion."

Allen Barkin, the immediate past president of the JCC, knew Herzberg as a fellow lawyer and JCC activist. As an attorney, Barkin said, Herzberg was "a consummate professional, confident but always pleasant and agreeable."

Barkin described Herzberg as a pioneer in environmental law and someone sought out for his expertise on environmental issues. At the JCC, he could bring others on board because of the strength of his own commitment, and even after he was no longer as active, he could always be counted on to provide sage advice.

"I consulted him, and I know Richard [Corman, former JCC executive director] would call him. He is really going to be missed."

Herzberg, a former deputy attorney general for the State of New Jersey, lived in Union, Philadelphia, Princeton, Washington, DC, and Scotch Plains, before moving to Westfield in 1991. He was a 1972 graduate of Haverford College, where he received a BA, and a 1975 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Law. He was a partner at Wolf, Block, Brach, Eichler law firm in Roseland in the Environmental and Land Use Group, and before that, a partner at Pitney, Harden, Kipp and Szuch.

Earlier in his career, Herzberg served as acting assistant counsel to NJ Gov. Brendan T. Byrne, as well as a deputy attorney general, and as an attorney for the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund in Washington. He belonged to the American Bar Association, the NJ State and Union County bar associations, and he had served as chairman of the State Bar Association's Environmental Section.

Donations in his memory may be made to the Peter J. Herzberg Memorial Fund at Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union.