Harold Bamberger

Published in the Reading Eagle on 11/16/2010

Harold E. Bamberger, 86, Robeson Township, Berks County, died Sunday, Nov. 14, 2010, at 10:58 p.m. in Reading Hospital, where he was a patient for 12 days.

He married Mary (Simenec) on Dec. 9, 1948.

Born in Lebanon on Oct. 29, 1924, he was a son of the late Henry V. and Sadie (Bixler) Bamberger.

Bamberger graduated from Cornwall High School in Lebanon City and went on to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps for three years, mostly in the South Pacific during World War II.

Bamberger was an outstanding athlete at Cornwall and earned letters in four sports.

He played professional baseball for seven years with stops at Concord, N.C., Trenton, N.J., Minneapolis, Minn., Jersey City, N.J., Birmingham, Ala., and Jacksonville, Fla., and was called up to the New York Giants at the end of the 1948 season, where he played three games under the manager Leo Durocher.

Bamberger managed a farm team in Muskogee, Okla., in 1951, and managed Reamstown in the Lebanon-Lancaster League.

Bamberger was the president of Twin Valley School Board for seven years of his 12 years on the board and represented Twin Valley on the Board of the Berks Intermediate Unit.

He retired from the former Grace Mines as a general foreman after 30 years with the company. He then worked six years at Hopewell National Historical Site.

He was a member of Robeson Lutheran Church, Plowville, where he served as a lector and on various committees.

Surviving along with his wife are two sons, Harold, husband of Ruth Bamberger, Mentor, Ohio; and Mark, husband of Susan Bamberger, Hollywood, Md.; a daughter, Brenda, wife of Brian McHale, Fleetwood; and four grandchildren.

Harold was the last member of his immediate family.

Funeral services will be held Wed., Nov. 17, 2010, at 11 a.m. at Robeson Lutheran Church, Plowville. Burial will be private. A viewing will be held Wed., 10 to 11 a.m., at the church.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Village Library, 207 N. Walnut St., P.O. Box 797, Morgantown, PA 19543, or to the charity of your choice. Dengler Funeral Home Inc., Birdsboro, is in charge of the arrangements.