Walter Sichel, former president and CEO of Max Marx Color Corp., Irvington, NJ, died Jan. 21, 2010. He was 82.

Mr. Sichel was born in Newark, NJ. A graduate of Rutgers University, Mr. Sichel was an Army veteran during the Korean Conflict. He joined Max Marx Color, which had been founded in 1908 by his grandfather, Max Marx, ultimately becoming president and CEO.

He was a devoted leader in the pigment industry, serving as chairman of both the Dry Color Manufacturers Association (DCMA) and Color Pigments Manufacturers Association (CPMA). As a result of his service to the industry, CPMA presented him with its Founders Award in 2005.

“Walter was a real elder statesman for the industry,” said Lawrence Robinson, CPMA’s president. “He was a tremendous resource for those of us in the industry. In June 2005, he received CPMA’s Founder’s Award for his service to CPMA, one of only two people to ever receive this award.”

Friends of Mr. Sichel all remembered as a gentleman.

“Walter was very gentlemanly,” said Chuck Hoover Sr., chairman of Hoover Color Corporation. “He was a good neighbor of ours, and he was instrumental in the DCMA and CPMA. Walter was a great gentleman and a great asset to our industry. He was one of the mainstays of the color pigment business. He was just an outstanding gentleman, and he’ll be missed.”

“I worked with Walter for just over 20 years,” said Tom Doty, technical marketing specialist for Dominion Colour Corporation. “He had an unassuming easy-going style which he combined with his passion for the business. He was always a pleasure to work with both professionally and as a friend.

“Walter was well known in the pigment industry in the U.S. and had developed many friendships through the years,” Mr. Doty added. “He was a regular figure at the company location for more than 50 years. He was well-thought of and admired by the company’s employees for the respect he showed to all and his calm demeanor.”

“Walter was a very nice individual, very understated and gentle,” said Mike Guzzo, sales manager of Dominion Colour, who worked with Mr. Sichel for 10 years. “He was very fair and very knowledgeable. He knew the chemistry of the business very well.”

Mr. Sichel was a member of Temple B’nai Jeshurun, Short Hills and the Brotherhood of the Temple, American Jewish Committee, Mental Health Association of Essex County, and The New Philharmonic of New Jersey, Morristown.

Mr. Sichel is survived by his wife, Nancy; his daughter, Susan Berger; his son, John; and four grandchildren.

Funeral services were held at Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Funeral Chapel, Livingston, NJ. Contributions may be made to A.J.C. Haiti Relief or St. Barnabas Hospice and Palliative Care Center.