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Born on March 31, 1927 in New York City to Viola (Berger) and Sam Riefberg, Riefberg moved to Danbury in 1954, working as a Chemist for McKesson and Robbins in Fairfield. He passed the Connecticut Bar in 1955 and on Feb. 20 of that year married the love of his life, Mae Rubinstein.
Riefberg's first legal job was an associate attorney with George, Hull & Pinney and in 1956, he opened his own general practice law firm. His son, Larry, joined him in 1982. He served as Corporation Counsel of the City of Danbury and Town Counsel of the Town of New Fairfield.
In 1985, Gov. William O'Neill appointed Riefberg a Judge of the Superior Court. He served as a Judge until 1997 but continued as a Trial Referee for many years.
Mae and Mort resided in Danbury until 2009 when they moved permanently to Naples, Fla. where they had been spending winters for a number of years.
Riefberg was a member - and formerly served on the Board of Trustees - of the United Jewish Center in Danbury and a member of Temple Shalom in Naples. He was a member of the Danbury Lions Club for decades. In 1985, after years of service on the Board of Catholic Charities, Riefberg received the Mary Dolce Award for Community Service.
In addition to Mae, "the Judge" is survived by his son, Larry and his wife, Meg, of Danbury and daughter, Vivian Riefberg of Bethesda, Md. as well as six grandchildren: Rachel and Leah Riefberg, Jamie and Kate Ashford and Sean and Christian Haddad. He is also survived by his brother, Stanley, his sister-in-law, Rita Zwerdling, niece, Linda Zwerdling and dear friend Mary Tahan.
The funeral will be held at the United Jewish Center, 141 Deer Hill Ave; Danbury at 1 p.m. on Sunday April 23, 2017. The family will receive friends at the synagogue beginning at noon that day.
Shiva will be at the home of Meg and Larry Riefberg, 6 Ervie Dr. inDanbury, on Sunday April 23 from 4-8: p.m. and then again on Monday from 4-8 p.m. There will also be a celebration of his life at Temple Shalom in Naples, Florida at a time to be announced.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: United Jewish Center (141 Deer Hill Ave; Danbury, CT, 06810) or Temple Shalom (4630 Pine Ridge Road, Naples, FL, 34119) or Jewish Federation of Collier County (2500 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Suite 2201, Naples, FL 34109), or Avow Hospice (1095 Whippoorwill Lane, Naples, FL, 34105) or Regional Hospice of Western Connecticut (30 Milestone Road, Danbury, CT, 06811).
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