Herbert M. Drower

Herbert M. Drower was an innovative executive, restless inventor, and devoted family man who knew how to blend his interests better than most. For him, nothing was better than a trip to a remote corner of the world with his family at his side, new customers to cultivate, great meals to savor, and interesting stories to collect and continue to dine on long after returning home. He died in Boston on March 8, 2026, at the age of 93.

As president of the Chicago-based plastics company Transilwrap, Herb expanded its operations and ambitions. He founded the company’s manufacturing division and grew its footprint globally. Along the way, he earned more than a dozen patents, and he and his beloved wife, Sara (Minkus) Drower, traveled to every continent except Antarctica. He never stopped learning, exploring, and doing.

Born in 1932 at the height of the Depression, Herb grew up in a working-class family on Chicago’s West Side. His father, Joe Drower, a decorated World War I veteran, managed a liquor store, and his mother, Dorothy (Bernstein) Drower, was a homemaker with a strong sense of right and wrong. He was the younger of twins, arriving ten minutes after his sister Marlene, and had an older brother, Merritt, who, despite a serious illness, worked part-time jobs to help support his younger siblings and paid for Herb’s Boy Scout uniform and equipment—a kindness Herb never forgot.

A proud graduate of Chicago Public Schools and president of his senior class at Marshall High School, Herb went on to earn his degree through scholarships and hard work at the Illinois Institute of Technology and Northwestern University. He became known in his family as “Mr. Fix-It,” an accomplished woodworker who built furniture and even a garage. His entrepreneurial spirit led him from a part-time job in a lamp store to co-founding and growing Sir Sandwich, a company that brought high-speed infrared ovens and hamburgers to small businesses across the Midwest. Honest to a fault and uninterested in shortcuts, he conducted business with integrity and quiet generosity.

Herb’s life changed forever on February 12, 1961, when he met Sara at a pre-Valentine’s Day party. The smart, Audrey Hepburn look-alike became his partner in adventure, travel, and family life. He is survived by Sara and the children and grandchildren who shared in his love of discovery and his pay-it-forward spirit.