J. Robert Seder

WORCESTER - J. Robert (Bob) Seder, a respected attorney, proud father and grandfather, a mentor to many and a man who never met a stranger, died peacefully on November 5, 2026, in Worcester, MA. He was 86 years old. 

Born on February 12, 1940, to Samuel Seder and Edith Seder Riemer, Bob carried a lifelong love for Worcester, the city that raised him. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and his law degree from New York University School of Law before beginning a career at Seligson & Morris in New York. He soon returned to Worcester, and to the house he grew up in, to work for his uncles at Seder & Seder. Over a career that spanned more than 60 years, he became one of the most respected bankruptcy attorneys on the East Coast. As a partner at Seder & Chandler, he also practiced banking and finance, mergers and acquisitions, and business law. He was known for his integrity, meticulous preparation, creative financial structuring, and careful contract drafting. To his clients he was more than an attorney. He was generous with his time and advice, steady in their hardest moments, and genuinely invested in how their lives turned out. 

His work earned him wide recognition: Best Lawyers® Corporate Law “Lawyer of the Year” for the Worcester, Massachusetts area in 2014; inclusion in U.S. News – Best Lawyers® from 1989 to 2025; inclusion in Super Lawyers from 2005 to 2025; a Distinguished peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell; and membership as a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy since 2004. Above all, it earned him the lasting respect of colleagues on both sides of the table. 

His commitment to his community was as deep as his commitment to his profession. Over the years he held many leadership positions, including Chairman of the Worcester Human Rights Commission; President of the Legal Aid Society; President of the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts; President and Executive Committee member of the Jewish Health Care Center; Board Member, Clerk and Director of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation; Chairman of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau; and Chairman of the Worcester Business Development Corporation. He also took part in the Bankruptcy Literacy Program. He was twice honored with the Silver Hammer Award by the Worcester Chamber of Commerce: in 1986 for his restoration of the Dwight Foster Building and in 1996 for the Burnside Building. 

Outside the office, Bob was happiest with a fishing rod in his hand, whether on a roaring river or chasing fish offshore. He was a patient woodworker whose pieces remain in the homes of his family, and a gardener who took real pride in the flowers and vegetables he grew. At the holidays, he commanded the kitchen, cooking for family and friends and always making sure there was enough left over to send home with each of his three kids. Worcester was home, but he fancied himself as a New Yorker at heart. From the age of 16, he spent summers clamming on Martha’s Vineyard, and in midlife he began tooling around the South of France each year, making friends everywhere he went and keeping them for life. 

He had a gift for that. A delayed flight was an opportunity; an airport layover could turn into a lifelong correspondence; even a fender bender could end in friendship. He gave the same warmth and attention to everyone he met, whatever their walk of life. 

Few people had such a wide circle, and fewer still loved the people in it the way he did. He is survived by his children, Samuel L. Seder, Julie A. Seder and Betsy Lin Seder; his grandchildren, Myla and Saul Seder; his sister, Carol Glick; his nephews and nieces, Larry and Holly Glick, Jon and Karen Glick, and Susie (Glick) and Ron Gilfix; and many great-nieces and great-nephews. He was predeceased by his brother-in-law, Edward Glick. The family is especially grateful to Deb Pope, his longtime assistant and dear friend, for her loyalty, laughs and care, particularly in his last years, and to his aide, Mouna Arthur, for the love and care she gave him in his final months. 

A funeral will be held on November 9 at 1PM at Temple Emanuel Sinai, 661 Salisbury St., Worcester, MA. Interment will follow at B’nai Brith Cemetery, 55 St. John’s Road, Worcester. Memorial Observances will be announced.  Arrangements are in the care of Miles Funeral Home of Holden. 

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Community Legal Aid (formerly the Legal Aid Society of Worcester) or the Jewish Healthcare Center.