Joseph P Goryeb

A resident of Mendham, Goryeb built his fortune and became a household name as the founder, CEO and ubiquitous face of Parsippany-based Champion Mortgage, starring in a series of TV commercials a generation ago in which he promised, "When your bank says no, Champion says yes." By the time he sold that business in 1997, he had already established himself as a philanthropist, raising more than $1 million for the American Cancer Society. "My dad was diagnosed with lymphoma about 20 years ago," said his son, Joseph M. Goryeb. "He had different battles throughout his life with cancer, and he beat every one of them. He wanted to give something back. So he got the idea of donating $10 for every loan that we closed to the ACS, and we actually did it in the name of the customer." Goryeb and his family later provided the seed money to build the Goryeb Children's Hospital at Morristown Medical Center, and made significant contributions to the restoration and expansion of the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown. Goryeb is survived by his son Joseph and wife, Jeanne, of Mendham Twp; Rick and his wife, Leslie, of Mendham Twp.; daughter Lynne Goryeb-Porfido and her husband, James Porfido, of Bernardsville; and nine grandsons.