Obituary of Norman Harberger

Norman (Norm) Harberger died at home on August 6, 2023. The son of Ferdinand C. Harberger and Martha Bucher Harberger, Norman was born May 12, 1929 in Newark, New Jersey. His childhood was spent in Irvington, New Jersey.

Norman graduated from Irvington High School in 1946. He went on to earn a BS (cum laude) degree from Ursinus College in 1950, majoring in Mathematics and Physics. His education continued at the University of Delaware where he pursued graduate studies in Mathematical Statistics. In June of 1951 he married Norma Young, an Ursinus classmate. Immediately after their wedding, they moved to Huntsville, Alabama, where Norman became a research scientist, and later assumed management positions at the Redstone Arsenal as an employee of Rohm and Haas Company. Norm and Norma’s three children were born during the years they lived in Huntsville.

In 1960 the family relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Norman continued to work for Rohm and Haas, in various management positions before becoming the Corporate Vice President, Administration in 1974. While living in Philadelphia, Norman maintained a commitment to community service, much of it through the Episcopal Church. From 1964-1979 he served on the Board of Episcopal Community Services of Philadelphia, including four years as Board President. He served in other roles in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, which included Chairman of the Ecumenical Task Force for Reconciliation under Bishop Robert DeWitt from 1964-1973. From 1980-1987 Norm served as Vice President and Chairman of the Priorities and Allocations Committee for the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Norman also served as Chairman of the Health Care Task Force of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry from 1985-1986. Additionally, he was appointed by the State Legislature as a Charter Member of the Health Care Cost Containment Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on which he served from 1986-1988.

Norman retired from Rohm and Haas in 1986, and established a consulting firm, Harberger and Associates, Inc. where he specialized in providing businesses with Executive and Management Compensation guidance until 2002. His commitment to community service continued in Hilton Head, where Norm served on the Board of Sea Pines Associates from 1993-2005, including a six-year term as Chairman. He also served Sea Pines Plantation as a Board Member and Corporate Secretary of Community Services Associates from 2005 – 2011. A firm supporter of education, Norm was a Trustee Emeritus of the Foundation Board of the Technical College of the Lowcountry, having served on that Board for twelve years. He also served as a Board Trustee

of the Children’s Center in Hilton Head from 2007 – 2013. A Trustee Emeritus of the Heritage Classic Foundation, Norman actively served as Trustee on the Management Committee for ten years. Additional community involvement over twenty years as a Member of the Greater Island Council of Hilton Head Island & Bluffton, as well as five years as a Board Member for the United Way of Beaufort County.

Music played a large role in Norman’s life. He was an accomplished trumpet player, but his greatest musical gift was his beautiful tenor voice. He was a member and soloist with the Huntsville Community Chorus, sang in the church choir and served as Interim Choir Director at The Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Huntsville, and spent 28 years singing in the choir at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Glenside during the Philadelphia years. His voice was full and resonant even in the last years of his life.

Norman was preceded in death by his wife of 59 years, G. Norma Harberger, in 2010. He is survived by the family that he and Norma created together. They include daughter Margaret Hadley and son-in-law John of Madison, Wisconsin and their children: Timothy, wife Heather, their daughters Madeline and Paige; David, partner Krystsina Dzmitrukova, their daughters Lillian and Emilia; and Lydia Scherg, Matthew Scherg and their children Riley and Wyatt; daughter Barbara Harberger of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and son Steve Harberger of Clemmons, North Carolina and his children: Mandi, partner Jake McIlwain; Erica Mountjoy, her husband Joe, and their daughters Lily and Addy; Alex Harberger; and Matt Harberger and his sons Russell, Hunter and Liam. Norman is also survived by his brother Arnold Harberger, and nephews Paul (Lea) and Carl (Liz) and Carl’s daughters Alyssa and Anna. Last, but not least, Norm leaves behind a wonderful group of loyal friends and neighbors, whom we all consider to be family. Interment services will be private. A celebration of Norman’s life will be scheduled at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to: The Heritage Library Foundation, 852 Wm. Hilton Pkwy, Suite 2A, Hilton Head, SC 29926. The Children’s Center, Inc. 8 Nature’s Way, Hilton Head, SC 29926. The Technical College of the Lowcountry, 921 Ribault Road, Beaufort, SC 29902. Ursinus College, Ursinus College Advancement Office, 601 East Main St. Collegeville, PA 19426. Episcopal Community Services, 225 South Third St., Philadelphia, PA 19106.