Huntington Grad Elected State Supreme Court Justice
Jerry Asher, a familiar face at Huntington High School football and basketball games, won election as a New York State Supreme Court justice on November 2.
Mr. Asher was president of Huntington High School's Class of 1959, the first one to graduate from the current building located at Oakwood and McKay Roads. He played on the Blue Devil football, basketball and baseball teams and has never stopped rooting for the school.
After graduating from Huntington, Mr. Asher earned a BA degree at Princeton University and a law degree at Cornell University. He practiced law for more than 30 years before winning election to Suffolk County District Court in November 2004. For the past two years he has served as an acting County Court judge.
The Suffolk County Criminal Bar Assn. named Mr. Asher the 2009 Judge of the Year. He is known as a fair and decisive jurist.
Following law school, Mr. Asher completed a two-year stint in the US Army, rising to the rank of captain and earning the Army Commendation Medal for Service in 1968. He was the commander of "A" Battery, 6th Battalion, 44th Artillery in Korea. He is a lifetime member of VFW Post 1469 in Huntington.
During his time as a practicing lawyer, Mr. Asher branched off into work as a baseball agent. Over the course of 26 years, he represented major league players in arbitration cases across the country. Some of his New York based players included Bud Harrelson, Lee Mazzilli, Tim Teufel, Rafael Santana, Shane Rawley, Neil Allen and Scott Brosius.
"Jerry has been a great friend of the Huntington School District over the years," Superintendent John J. Finello said. "He couldn't be more supportive of our students, athletes, teachers and programs."
Mr. Asher has a habit of turning up at Huntington High School to watch football games, as well as boys' and girls' basketball games. He is supporter of the Huntington Booster Club and regularly attends that organization's events.
It's hard to find any alum who is prouder to be a Huntington graduate. Mr. Asher remains close to his former classmates and teammates and even coaches, including Al D'Onofrio.
Last fall, Mr. Asher helped organized a 50th reunion for Huntington's Class of 1959 and was instrumental in getting former high school assistant principal and class advisor Don Loughlin to attend. Mr. Loughlin left Huntington in 1968 to become principal of a high school in the Rochester area.
Through the years, Mr. Asher has participated in various community and charitable organizations. He has won countless honors and awards for his work and volunteerism. The Huntington grad was a key member of the Huntington Planning Board for 17 years.
Mr. Asher and his wife of 47 years, Silvia are the parents of two daughters, Gigi and Lara.