Erwin L. Beidler's Obituary
Erwin L. Beidler
St. Michaels, Erwin Leonard (Win) Beidler, died at the William Hill Manor, Easton, on Saturday, May 3, 2014 he was 82.
Born on February 1, 1932 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the son of the late Jacob Wilson Beidler and the late Hattie Matilda Reiss Beidler. Upon graduation from Fountain Hill High School in 1949, he voluntarily joined the US Army, serving as a non-commissioned officer in the ASA Communications Intelligence Training Company during the Korean War from 1951 through 1954, honorably discharged thereafter. Win enrolled at Pennsylvania State University on the GI Bill in 1954. He joined the Theta Chi fraternity while a student, and met his wife-to-be, Joan Mary Catanzaro, a native of Pittsburgh. He and Joan married on January 26, 1957, a snowy winter day in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; they shared a garret apartment in State College until Win’s graduation in 1958 with a B.S. in Business Administration with a minor in Engineering.
Win joined the sales division of the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) upon graduation, moving with Joan to Berea, Ohio; he became the office manager of ALCOA’S Wichita’s sales office in 1962. They returned to Pennsylvania in 1967 with their three children, and Win started his heating and air conditioning business in Greensburg, Pennsylvania in 1968. He developed a systems and energy management business in 1973. Fulfilling a life long dream, Win bought and managed an 89 acre farm in nearby Mt. Pleasant Township in 1978 and he, Joan and their children enjoyed it fully. After selling his own businesses, Win became a licensed real estate agent in 1985, acting principally for commercial properties.
Throughout his life Win devoted substantial time and effort to volunteer and charitable causes. A member of Rotary International, he served as President of the Greensburg Rotary Club; he received a Paul Harris Fellow Award and was also named Rotarian of the Year. He was the President of the Central Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce and of the United Way of Central Westmoreland County. Win was a charter member of Go Greensburg Development Corporation, and a founder of the Westmoreland Economic Development Corporation. He also served on the Southwest Regional Planning Commission and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Location Selection Committee.
Win’s hobbies included gardening, farming, sailing, fly fishing, painting in water colors and cooking.
In addition to his beloved wife Joan, he is survived by his children Linda Beidler-D’Aguilar and her husband Dayne D’Aguilar of Nassau, Bahamas, Leslie Parkerson and her husband David Parkerson of St. Michaels, MD and Robert Beidler and his wife Lynne of Denver, Pennsylvania as well as his grandchildren Mary Beth Parkerson and Michael, Nathan and Jacob Beidler.
He is also survived by his sister Harriet, her husband Thomas Leibinger and their daughters and grandchildren, his sister-in-law Sandy Beidler as well as numerous other nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brothers Jacob, Wilmer, DeForrest and Kenneth and his sisters Dorothy Grossman, Catherine McCandless, Ester Christine and Betty Wollitz.
A memorial service will be held at St. Michaels Mission Church, St. Michaels, MD on Saturday, May 10, 2014 at 10:00 in the morning. Internment will follow at Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to: the Audubon Center at Pickering Creek, 11450 Audubon Lane, Easton, MD 21601 (http://pickeringcreek.audubon.org) or the Talbot Hospice Foundation, 586 Cynwood Drive, Easton, MD 21601 (http://talbothospice.org/). Arrangements are by the Ostrowski Funeral Home, St. Michaels .
What’s your fondest memory of Erwin?
What’s a lesson you learned from Erwin?
Share a story where Erwin's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Erwin you’ll never forget.
How did Erwin make you smile?