Ed Brungraber

Age  89, longtime resident of Mt. Lebanon, PA, passed away on July 16, 2016 at his Friendship Village home in Upper Saint Clair. Ed was born in Stanton, Michigan to Louis and Beatrice (Crawford) Brungraber on July 30, 1926. Ed received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University in 1948. At Iowa State he was active in Sigma Phi Epsilon, a national fraternity dedicated to “Building Balanced Men”. He returned for reunions regularly, most recently in October of 2015 .Ed joined NROTC at Western Michigan College (1944), was appointed as Ensign in the US Naval Reserve after graduation from Iowa State University. He was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade in 1954 and honorably retired from the USNR in 1966. Ed married Irene “Rene” Phyllis Meyer, June 25, 1949 in Linn Grove, Iowa. He began his career as Sales Engineer trainee with Bigelow-Liptak Corporation, Detroit, 1948-1952, and later transferred as Sales Engineer to New York City and Philadelphia, 1952-1958. He became Refractory Products Engineer at General Refractories Company in Chicago, 1958-1961 and Refractory Sales Engineer in Cleveland, 1961-1962. Joining Bloom Engineering as KA-Weld Sales Engineer in Chicago, 1962-1967, he transferred to Pittsburgh as Manager Rolling Mill Products Manager where he worked for the balance of his career. He received two US utility patents during his career for inventions of refractory products used in steel making.Growing up in Detroit, he had a lifelong passion for the automobile industry; its products, history, and technology.Ed was known for identifying make, model, and year of a car from the image of just single wheel. He and Rene also frequently served as poll watchers through the League of Women Voters and were active in community outreach through Southminster Presbyterian Church in Mt. Lebanon where he also served as an Elder. Ed and Rene hosted many foreign exchange students organized through AFS-USA. Following retirement in 1992, he served as a docent at the Frick Car and Carriage Museum, delighting visitors with his knowledge of cars. His hobbies included family camping, sailing, golf, and woodworking, as well as driving his convertible, top down in almost every kind of weather. Ed is survived by his wife, Rene, children Sue Richardson (Walpole, MA), Carol Reece (Pittsburgh, PA), Laurie Charlton (Pittsburgh, PA), and Kurt Brungraber (Brownsville, PA), eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Memorial services will be held on August 4, 2016 at 2:30 p.m., Southminster Presbyterian Church, 799 Washington Road,  Mt. Lebanon, PA. An interment ceremony for the family will occur in the Columbarium preceding the service. Memorials may be directed to AFS-USA or the National Stroke Foundation. Arrangements by LAUGHLIN MEMORIAL CHAPEL

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