John L. Asher Jr.

Class of 2006

Born March 3, 1934, in Philadelphia, Jack began working at the age of 12 in his father’s candy store, Asher’s Chocolates, which was founded by his grandfather in 1892.

In 1954, he married Carolyn and began working full time at Asher’s Chocolates factory on the manufacturing side of business. After his father’s death in 1966, Jack and his younger brother, Robert, took over the business and expanded the company in Pennsylvania’s Germantown area.

In 1991, Jack acquired Goss Candy Co. in Lewistown, PA, and renamed it Asher’s Chocolates/Lewistown. The company’s sales increased 22-fold in 14 years, and at the time of induction, he was president of Asher’s Chocolates/Lewistown and co-chairperson of Asher’s Chocolates.

Jack says hard work and making quality candy as quickly as possible are the key factors to his success. He credits his father and grandfather for instructing him to keep his nose to the grindstone. Looking back on his 55-year career, he says he only regrets not expanding earlier.

In 1988, he received the Small Business Person of the Year award from the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

Jack and Carolyn raised three children, John III, David and Susan. Jack enjoys serving his church, and he is a strong supporter of continuing education; he has worked with groups such as the PMCA and the American Association of Candy Technologists. Jack served as a volunteer firefighter for 35 years. Today, he sponsors and helps direct re-enactments of the Battle of Germantown.

Jack passed away August 30, 2017.