Ira “Bob” Born, second-generation candy-maker and Navy veteran, died Jan. 29 at the age of 98.

After Born returned from World War II, he was accepted to medical school. Waiting for classes to begin the following year, he worked at the family company, Just Born, where he would fall in love with candy-making and would go on to invent some of the company’s most iconic candies, and modernized elements of production.

The son of Just Born founder Sam Born, Bob ultimately served as president for 40 years. While looking to cut waste of leftover licorice, Born thought to add cinnamon: The Hot Tamale was created in 1950. Three years later, as president, he oversaw the purchase of the Rodda Candy Company of Lancaster, which, though known for jellybeans, also made marshmallow products. Hand-squeezing a chick shape through pastry tubes and hand-painting eyes made each Peep chick a 27-hour operation, so he created a machine that produces a chick in just six minutes.

During his early years with the company he met and married Maxine and became the father of Ross and Sara.

According to Ross, “Bob was a music lover and handy around the house; he could fix (or tried to fix) almost everything. He acquired his skills from his father, who had a complete woodworking shop.”

Bob believed in the value of a quality education, and made certain that he both encouraged and provided the means for his children to pursue their ambitions. Later, during his “retirement” years, he chaired a literacy program in a Florida school system in an underserved community. He recruited over 100 volunteers and saw that they were properly trained.

In addition, Bob was actively involved in a wide variety of organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding at Muhlenberg College (now the Institute for Religious and Cultural Understanding), the Jewish Institute for National Security of America and the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

Ross said Bob lived in Florida for almost 30 years before returning north to a senior living community outside Philadelphia with his wife Patricia (he outlived his first two wives). He quickly saw the walls were bare and enlisted the photography club (he was its chair) to supply nature photographs to adorn them.

“Bob enjoyed travel to experience the diversity of people, art, music and history in North America, Eastern and Western Europe, Israel and Asia. He once spent several months volunteering in Thailand to provide expertise on candy-making to a small confectionery business there. And, on another trip, he even met the Pope,” said Ross. “He was a true Renaissance man, a gentleman, and a real mensch – a person of integrity and honor.”