Barney C. Guttman

GUTTMAN: Barney C. Guttman, June 7, 1939 – June 14, 2026. Barney C. Guttman, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend to seemingly everyone he ever met, passed away on June 14, just a week after his 87th birthday. Barney was known to initiate every toast and wedding speech with “Friends who are family and family who are friends,” and no nine words could better capture how he lived. Born in Pittsburgh on June 7, 1939, to Morris “Moe” and Rosamond “Roe” Cohen Guttman, Barney grew up in Squirrel Hill, the first-born grandson of a close-knit clan that gathered every Friday night around Grandma Lena’s table. He attended elementary school at Linden School, high school at Mercersburg Academy and college at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. After university, and over his mother’s objections, Barney turned down law school to begin his career at Merrill Lynch & Company in New York City, periodically returning home to serve in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard. In 1963, when his father fell ill, Barney returned to Pittsburgh to run the family business, Pittsburgh Aluminum Alloys, growing it from a regional manufacturer into a firm with a national footprint, eventually orchestrating its sale to National Steel in 1970. It was during this time that Barney met Susie on a blind date, proposing after only six dates. They built a life and family together, joyfully married almost 60 years. A few years later, he began a new chapter. In 1974, armed with a phone, a yellow pad and a Wall Street Journal, he founded what became Barney C. Guttman and Associates and Vantage Financial Group, building one of Pittsburgh’s early fee-based investment advisory practices over four decades. He continued working well past the age most people consider retiring, because to Barney, work was always enjoyable. Once retired, Barney still loved to discuss “asset allocation,” “index funds” and “alternative investments,” especially with his grandkids. In addition to being a wonderful family man, Barney devoted much of his energy to civic engagement. He was passionate about supporting organizations focused on combatting antisemitism, advancing medical science and improving Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods. He served as president of the Concordia Club, treasurer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and St. Edmund’s Academy, and a board officer of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, East Liberty Development Corporation, Rodef Shalom Congregation, the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition and the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. In later years, Barney and Susie split their time between Pittsburgh and Delray Beach, Florida, where their home was rarely quiet or empty. Fifteen houseguests at a time was not unusual, and that was exactly how he liked it: golf, good food, family, great friends and a Belvedere vodka martini. Barney is survived by his wife, Susan Goldstein Guttman; his children, Harley and Eli Ungar (Englewood, New Jersey), Lissa Guttman (Pittsburgh), and Greg and Genna Guttman (Chicago); his sister, Patricia; and his eight adored grandchildren: Caleb, Maya and Eva Ungar; Oren, Dean and Alexa Guttman; and Ryan and Morgan Guttman, to whom he was simply Pop Pop. He chose as the epigraph for the final chapter of his memoir a line he believed with his whole heart: “To live in the hearts of those you love is not to die.” By that measure, Barney Guttman will be with us for a very long time. Funeral services will be held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., 5509 Centre Avenue, Shadyside, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at 11 a.m. Visitation 10 to 11 a.m. Interment West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Hillman Cancer Center (hillman.upmc.com), a cause close to Barney’s heart. schugar.com PJC