Morton Fiedler
FIEDLER: Morton Fiedler passed away at age 93, after a brief illness, on February 13, 2018, near Lake Worth, Fla., where he had spent a happy retirement since 1990. Mort (or Morty) was born in Pittsburgh on April 28, 1924, the son of William Fiedler and Lillian Zolten Fiedler, both of whom emigrated from Eastern Europe to the United States as young children. Mort and his devoted wife Sherma (Sheri) Feldman Fiedler celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on January 28. He was a loving father to Nancy and David. The Fiedlers raised their family in White Oak. They were longtime members of Temple B’nai Israel. They also were members of Baldoc Hills Country Club (later Lincoln Hills) in Irwin. Mort loved flying airplanes, golf and was a voracious reader. He served in the Army Air Force, starting at the age of 18 as an aviation cadet, and progressed rapidly through his training to get his pilot’s wings and commission as a 2nd lieutenant two days before his 20th birthday. Soon after, as commander of a B-17 bomber crew, Mort flew a brand-new bomber with his entire crew from Georgia to England, and the crew was assigned to the Eighth Air Force, 18th squadron, 34th bomb group outside the village of Mendlesham. The crew flew 32 missions before the war ended, and every member under Mort’s command survived with no injuries. After the war, Mort returned to McKeesport where his parents and sister lived, with plans to work in the business of selling appliances and to expand it to include air conditioning and heating contracting. He attended the University of Pittsburgh, one of the first students to register there under the new G.I. Bill. He earned his bachelor’s of science degree in mechanical engineering there in three years, and met Sherma Feldman, whom he would wed on her 21st birthday. Mort joined the newly formed Air Force Reserve unit in Pittsburgh, where he was able to continue flying transport planes, and retired from the Reserve 28 years later as a lieutenant colonel. The business in McKeesport flourished for a period, and then closed, and Mort started a second career in the architectural lighting business. He worked for Lightolier, an innovator in the field, eventually moving to Chicago, where he became the manager of the company’s Midwest business before retiring. He is survived by his wife, daughter Nancy (Jeff) Millman , son David (Becky) Fiedler, granddaughters Amy (Alyssa) Fiedler, M.D. and Morgan (Nathan) Delack, and two great-grandchildren, Hannah and Caleb. Services will be held on Friday, February 16, 2018, at 3 pm at Beth Israel Memorial Chapel, Boynton Beach, Fla. Burial will take place in Temple Cemetery, Versailles, Pa. Please honor Mort with a donation to a charity of your choice.
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