Shop Owner From Hoboken Dies At 98; Memorial Planned Thursday

HObOKEN, NJ — Arnold Stern, a longtime Hoboken resident who had owned Hoboken Antiques on Washington Street for more than 35 years, has passed away.

The Hoboken Museum, in which Stern was still involved in recent years, announced his death Wednesday and said there will be a memorial service Thursday.

Stern had turned 98 this summer.

Aside from his involvement in Hoboken, Stern was a World War II veteran.

There are fewer than 240,000 World War II veterans still alive, according to Forbes and other sources, and at least 200 die each day. Most are in their late 90s.

Stern owned the antique store at 511 Washington St. — the current site of Medicine Man pharmacy — with his late wife Dora. (See photos here).

The Museum noted, "The Museum is saddened to announce the passing of our friend, neighbor, and longtime supporter Arnold Stern. Arnold and his wife Dora, who settled in Hoboken in the late seventies, opened an antique store on Washington Street, and were some of the earliest residents of the Shipyard after they moved from their restored brownstone. Arnold was a WWII veteran and a chemist, but we knew him as a funny, warm, and gentlemanly person, a true sweetheart."

Dora Stern passed away in 2012.

"He ... posed with painter Frank Hanavan and a painting of their antiques store, right before we installed it in the current exhibit about Washington Street," the Museum wrote.

A celebration of Arnold Stern’s life will be held at Lawton-Turso Funeral Home, 633 Washington Street from 12-2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 8.