In Memoriam: Herbert Aspbury, 81

Senior Executive for MHT, Chemical and CMB in U.S. and Europe

 
Herbert (Herb) F. Aspbury, a longtime resident of New Canaan, CT and of John’s Island, Fla., died on May 12, 2026, aged 81. He joined Manufacturers Hanover Trust in 1967. After leading MHT’s North American division in New York, he became the London-based head of Europe for Chemical Bank following the merger of those two institutions in 1992. After a subsequent merger, he retired from Chase Manhattan as the Senior Managing Director for Europe, Africa and the Middle East in 2000. 
 
Born in Millbrook, NY, Aspbury earned a BA in English from Villanova University in 1967 and graduated from Harvard Business School’s Program for Management Development in 1980. He received an Alumni Medal for outstanding and extended service to Villanova in 1992. He joined the Alumni Association board of directors in 1994, spending two years as its president. He became a member of the university’s Board of Trustees in 1999 and was honored to be elected its Chairman in 2007. 
 
After retirement, Aspbury returned to Connecticut and served on numerous boards, both corporate and non-profit. He was chairman of the Royal Oak Society, the American affiliate of the English National Trust, and was vice chairman of the Vero Beach Museum of Art’s board of trustees. 
 
He was also a a generous financial supporter of numerous charitable causes. Among them were the Block Island Nature Conservancy, the Vero Beach Museum of Art, the Public Broadcasting System and Villanova,  where he and his wife endowed a scholarship. 
 
Among his survivors are his wife if 57 years, Mary Victoria (Vicki), two sons and a daughter, and six grandchildren.
 
 
 

Remembrances

 
Please send remembrances to news@chasealum.org
 
From Gerard Hannon: It saddens me to learn of Herb's passing. He was clearly one of the brightest at Manny Hanny, and, more than that, one of the most decent human beings you would encounter. Whether you were several levels above Herb or below Herb, it didn’t matter; he treated everyone with respect. With his delightful personality it was easy to get along with Herb, and he brought out the best in everyone.
     My favorite experience, though, was when he was in charge of Europe, following our merger with Chemical, and I took him to visit GM‘s Zaragoza assembly complex, their largest plant in Europe as well as the newest among them. We had to take an internal flight from Madrid to Zaragoza. It seems that our pilot must have had a previous career in the Spanish Air Force and his approach to the Zaragoza airport reminded me of my experiences in landing on an aircraft carrier in the Gulf of Tonkin (clearly as a passenger as I was a surface warrior) but Herb was gripping the armrest as if his life depended upon it. He would be pleased to know that you can now travel to Zaragoza by high speed train.
     The bank, and all who knew Herb, are better because of his time with us.