The Philip I. and Muriel M. Berman Papers: Collection I
² ² ² The Philip I. and Muriel M. Berman Papers: Collection I Held by Special Collections, Linderman Library Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015 Call No.: SC MS 095 Berman Papers Page 1 of 154 rev. 05/24/2006 Biographical Sketch Philip Isaac Berman and Muriel Mallin Berman, husband and wife – the “amazing Bermans” as they were often called – worked together as a team throughout the fifty-five years of their marriage, in raising their family, managing their businesses, making frequent trips abroad, collecting art, and planning philanthropy. This biographical sketch is therefore an account, not of one person alone, but of two together, who devoted a great deal of their astonishing energy and considerable fortune to philanthropy and public service, in their home city of Allentown, their home state of Pennsylvania, and around the world, especially in Israel. Philip Berman was born on June 28, 1915, in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, son of Joseph and Dora (Feingold) Berman. In 1932 he enrolled at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, but in 1933 returned home to join the family trucking business, from which he built his fortune. On September 23, 1942, he married Muriel Mallin. In the same week, however, he also joined the U.S. Marine Corps, with which he served in the South Pacific during World War II. Muriel Mallin Berman was born on June 21 1914, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, daughter of Solomon and Dora (Cooperman) Mallin. From The Pennsylvania State College of Optometry in Philadelphia she earned her doctorate in 1938 and maintained her license in optometry until 1984. In 1945 Philip Berman was relieved of active duty with the Marine Corps.
[Show full text]