“He was kind, hard-working, fair and, above all, loved his family — which included his entire extended Bernie & Phyl’s family,” the Rubin family said.

Rubin, 82, and his wife, Phyllis, were married 61 years and began building their iconic New England furniture chain in 1983 in Quincy, the family said. He died in South Florida, according to the statement, which described Rubin as “one in a million.”

Bernie Rubin, the cofounder of Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture, died Monday of COVID-19, according to a statement from his family.

The Norton-based furniture chain has stores in Braintree, Hyannis, Natick, Raynham, Saugus, and Westborough, as well as Nashua and Newington, N.H., and South Portland, Maine. Its television commercials — featuring the catchy jingle, “Quality, comfort, and price — that’s nice!” — made the couple famous to viewers across the region.


Rubin was born in December 1937 and raised three children with Phyllis: Larry, Rob, and Michelle, according to the statement. All three went into the family business. He was a grandfather to 10 and a great-grandfather to one.

“Bernie was very philanthropic and loved giving back to the community. Over the years, he supported many charitable organizations across New England including the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Boys & Girls Clubs, the Home for Little Wanderers, Bridgewell, and the Pine Street Inn,” the statement said.

“In many ways, Bernie was larger than life,” it continued. “He touched the lives of countless people with his warmth, charm, wit, charisma, and generosity. Everyone who met Bernie loved him and he will be greatly missed.”

Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at jeremy.fox@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeremycfox.