Obituary of Rene Scherbaum

Rudolf (Rene) K. Scherbaum was born September 17, 1937 in Kleukheim Germany. He passed away at his home in Palm City, Florida on December 9, 2014. He is survived by Erika, his wife of forty-eight years.

In 1954, at the age of seventeen, he immigrated to New York City, making into reality a dream he held since he was seven years old.

In 1961 he was drafted into the U. S. Army and assigned to Germany, where his primary role was as an interpreter. He was honorably discharged in 1964.

Upon returning to New York, he managed a hair salon on Madison Avenue, and acquired his first of several salons in 1966. After rising to the top of his field, he became the proprietor of the salon at the prestigious Carlyle Hotel, the only five-star hotel in New York City at that time. His clients included - Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Gloria Swanson, Lauren Hutton, Prime Minister Indira Ghandi, Queen Noor of Jordan, and Mary Rockefeller. There were also notable male clients, including - Jack Nicholson, Burgess Meredith, Jack Lemmon, and Marvin Hamlisch. During this time, Rene's favorite pastime was escaping with Erika to their beach house in Montauk.

He owned the salon at the Carlyle Hotel until his retirement. He and Erika have spent the past 20 years between Palm City and New York, enjoying time with friends, playing tennis, and petanque. Always creative, Rene expressed his artistic talents making clay sculptures. He even developed his own unique style of crafting sculptures from palm frond. Despite his success, Rene always looked out for those who needed help. Hence, he found so much pride and satisfaction in being a Rotarian.

A memorial service is planned for January 10, 2015 at the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, located at 1454 SW Mapp Road, Palm City. The starting time for this service is 10 am. Immediately following, there will be a celebration of Rene's life at the Monarch Country Club.

In lieu of flowers, please make your donations to the 4C Club. http://www.the4cclub.com/

Arrangements are under the direction of the Forest Hills Funeral Home, Palm City.

An online registry is available at www.foresthillsfunerals.com .