Berger

Philip R. Berger Sr., formerly of Bradford Woods, died May 12 in Cranberry Township.

He was raised in upstate New York and attended Phillips Exeter Academy. Following two years in the Army, where he served as a technical sergeant, he entered Harvard University and earned his bachelor's and master's degrees.

In June 1949, he married Eleanor DePauw; and he worked as the assistant to the director of the Harvard Seismological Observatory. In 1955, he moved to the Pittsburgh area and was president and chairman of the board for Vibra-Tech Associates, a consulting company specializing in vibration and noise control.

In 1971, he started his own company, Philip R. Berger & Associates, and in 1986, he founded an affiliated company, GeoSonics. In 1996, he was named chairman of the board for GeoSonics and an allied company, Vibra-Tech Engineers. Throughout his career, Eleanor served as his business partner and office manager.

He received a number of professional awards including the International Society of Explosives Engineers' Distinguished Service Award, and he and Eleanor were the first couple to receive an honorary life membership bestowed by the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association.

He and Eleanor were one of five couples who, in 1957, started the Bradford Woods Couples Club, which recently presented its 25th show to raise money for local charities. He also was treasurer and later president during his 10 years on the North Allegheny School Board, was instrumental in planning and fundraising for North Hills Passavant Hospital and the Unitarian Church of the North Hills, was past president and treasurer of the Bradford Woods Conservancy, was treasurer of his town homeowners association, and in 2001 was named, along with Eleanor, as Bradford Woods' first recipients of the community's Volunteer of the Year Award.

He was the beloved husband of 57 years of the late Eleanor Berger; father of Leslie B. (Stephen) Ehrmann and Philip R. (Barbara Bennett) Berger Jr.; grandfather of Christopher Ehrmann and Kimberly Berger; great-grandfather of Nicholas Lozovoy; brother of Suzanne Roethel; uncle of Dow, Peter and David Berger, Betsy Nickless and Susan Morris; and friend of Elizabeth Fox.

<B>BERGER </B>— A memorial service for Philip R. Berger Sr., who died Monday, May 12, 2008, will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday at Sherwood Oaks, 100 Norman Drive, Cranberry Township.In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the SORA (Sherwood Oaks Residents Association) Employee Scholarship Fund, 100 Norman Drive, Cranberry Township, PA 16066; or to a charity of choice.