Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Barr Elder ASPLUNDH
Barr E. Asplundh, 82, executive and daredevil
By Walter F. Naedele
Inquirer Staff Writer
Barr E. Asplundh was a pilot with what might be called exceeding enthusiasm.
"He was flying aerobatics up until about 1980," into his 50s, said his wife, Jeanne.
On flybys around his Fort Washington home, he made his presence known with a Pitts Special, a single-engine biplane.
"He would come down over the fields where our farmhouse is," she said, "and would pull up to just miss the chimney."
Mr. Asplundh, 82, former president and board chairman of Asplundh Tree Expert Co., died of Alzheimer's disease on Saturday, Aug. 14, at Meadowood, a retirement community in Worcester, Montgomery County, where he had lived for two months.
The Willow Grove firm, founded by his father and two uncles in 1928, keeps power lines clear of trees and undergrowth in several locations across the nation, as well as in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
Mr. Asplundh was a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association and the International Aerobatic Club, both in Oshkosh, Wis., and of the Soaring Society of America in Hobbs, N.M.
His enthusiasm for flying was first noted while he was still a teenager - by the Pennsylvania State Police.
On Aug. 6, 1947, while home on leave from the Army, the 19-year-old flew a plane from an airport in the Somerton section of Northeast Philadelphia to an airport in Doylestown.
The Evening Bulletin reported that he and the pilots of two other planes were arrested by a state trooper "on the complaint of the director of a summer camp for boys at Rushland who charged that the fliers 'buzzed' the camp . . . at an altitude of 10 to 75 feet, endangering the lives of campers."
"They were the first arrests of the kind ever made in Bucks County," the newspaper reported, for flying at altitudes under 1,000 feet over populated areas.
State police that summer were cracking down on pilots flying low over summer camps in Bucks County, the newspaper said.
Mr. Asplundh paid a $25 fine and court costs.
Born in Abington, Mr. Asplundh graduated from high school in Bryn Athyn in 1945 and was a demolition expert in the Army's 82d Airborne Division, Stateside, from 1946 to 1948.
His wife, Jeanne, said that being a daredevil was part of his job in the Army, too.
As he parachuted from a plane, she said, he was carrying explosives strapped to one leg and detonators strapped to the other.
She said that as he floated near the ground, he would release the explosives from one leg and a few moments later the detonators from the other, "so one would not hit the other" and create any unintended unpleasantness.
After earning a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics at Pennsylvania State University in 1952, he became a supervisor in the family firm's Maryland operations.
In 1955, Mr. Asplundh became the firm's operations manager in Michigan, in 1958 returned to its headquarters to run its equipment department, and in 1962 became vice president, overseeing several regional operations.
In 1968, he became president of the firm, the first of his generation to hold the title, and in 1982 he became board chairman.
In 1990, Mr. Asplundh retired as chairman. He remained a board member until 2002 and an adviser until 2008.
Mr. Asplundh was a trustee at Abington Memorial Hospital, a member of the development council at Wills Eye Hospital, and a board member at Huntingdon Valley Country Club.
He was a member of the Bryn Athyn Zoning Board, the Highlands Historical Society in Fort Washington, and the Asplundh Foundation.
Mr. Asplundh was a commodore at the Ocean City (N.J.) Marlin and Tuna Club and a member of the Ocean City Yacht Club; the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Fla.; and the International Game Fish Association in Dania Beach, Fla.
Besides his wife of 30 years, Mr. Asplundh is survived by a daughter, Alex Louise Asplundh; a brother; a sister; four grandchildren; and two great-granddaughters. He is also survived by his former wife, Lois Asplundh.
A memorial was set for 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17, at Bryn Athyn Cathedral, 600 Tomlinson Rd., Bryn Athyn.
| HOME | EMAIL | SURNAMES |
Return to The Pennocks of Primitive Hall website.
The information in this database may contain errors. If you find any questionable data, or if you have something to add my findings, please feel free to e-mail me by clicking on the "E-MAIL" link above. Thank you!
Page built by Gedpage Version 2.21 ©2009 on 07 July 2020