Jacob Hiatt, one of the major supporters of Brandeis University, died Feb. 25 in Worcester, Mass., at 95.
Hiatt immigrated to the United States from Lithuania in the 1930s and became a successful businessman. In addition to his support for Brandeis, he also supported projects in Israel.
Before he moved to the United States, he was an assistant district attorney and circuit judge in Lithuania.
Once in the United States, Hiatt became a successful businessman — he was chairman of the Rand-Whitney Container Corp., one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of paper containers.
In addition to donating to Brandeis to create scholarships and fellowships for deserving students, he also created the Jacob Hiatt Chair of Christian Studies there.
The chair was established in 1990 when Hiatt, his daughter and son-in-law, Myra and Robert Kraft endowed a program in comparative religion at Brandeis and Holy Cross universities.
Hiatt also gave millions of dollars to education programs abroad, including Israel, and donated nearly $30 million to the city of Worcester to improve that city’s education and arts.
Hiatt is survived by two daughters, a sister, four grandchildren and six great- grandchildren.
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