Obituaries

Olive Young

Olive S. Young, 98, died Nov. 16 at Foulkeways, Gwynedd, Pa. Born in Anchorage, Ky, she spent her childhood in Washington, D.C. where her father, Swagar Sherley, was a congressman from Kentucky and the chairman of the Appropriations Committee during World War I.

A member of St. Paul's Church in Chestnut Hill since 1935, she was on the Altar Guild for more than four decades. She was also a founding member of the board of the Academy of Vocal Arts.

Mrs. Young is survived by her daughter, Sherley Young of Devon, Pa., and two granddaughters. Her husband of 70 years, Andrew B. Young, and a son, Andrew O. Young, predeceased her.

A memorial service will be held in the future at St. Paul's Church, Chestnut Hill. Burial will be private. Memorial contributions may be made to the Christopher Reeve Foundation, 636 Morris Turnpike, Suite 3A, Short Hills, NJ 07078.

Walter Muehlbronner

Walter E. Muehlbronner, 83, formerly of Glenside, died on Nov. 17 at his home in Penllyn.

Mr. Muehlbronner was one-half of the featured dance team with the 1950s Ice Follies. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany and raised in Queens, N.Y. As a youth, he was an amateur cyclist, winning the 100 mile Long Island Championship. He served three years in the European Theater of War during World War II.

Upon discharge from the service, Mr. Muehlbronner returned to New York and ice skating. He partnered with a girl from Brooklyn and they went on to become Silver Medalists in Ice Dancing and Pairs at the 1949 and 1950 U.S. National Championships. In 1950, the pair represented the United States at the World Championships in London.

In 1951, Mr. Muehlbronner’s skating partner, Irene Maguire, became his life partner. For seven years the Muehlbronners starred with the Ice Follies as the smooth dance team “Walter and Irene.” In 1958, they settled in the Philadelphia area, with Mr. Muehlbronner teaching at, and later managing, the Wissahickon Skating Club in Chestnut Hill.

From 1972-1974, Mr. Muehlbronner was president of the Professional Skaters Association. Upon retirement in 1990, he pursued his other interests and hobbies, which included bowling, golf, water-skiing, and sculpting.

Mr. Muehlbronner is survived by Irene, his wife of 54 years, four sons: Richard, James (Linda); Peter (Jennifer); Walter Jr. (Michele); grandchildren Caroline, Maria, Alexandra and Samuel; and two sisters: Marianne Francesi and Margaret Wilson.

A funeral Mass was held at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Ambler on Nov. 21 and interment took place at Holy Sephulchre Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the National Parkinson Foundation, 1501 N.W. 9th Avenue/Bob Hope Rd., Miami, FLA 33136-1494 or to Abington Memorial Hospital Home Care/Hospice Program, Ste. 250, 2510 Maryland Road, Willow Grove, PA 19090-0520.

Barbara Plager

Barbara J. Plager, 61, of West Mt. Airy, a leading member of Pennsylvania’s health care community, died on Nov. 17 after a courageous battle with ovarian cancer. Raised in Iowa, Ms. Plager graduated from Grinnel College in Grinnel, Iowa in 1966. For two summers during her college years she taught at a small rural college in Mississippi as part of the civil rights movement.

She received an M.A. in history from the State University of New York/Buffalo in 1968, an M.S. in urban planning in 1971. At the time of her death she was a doctoral candidate in health policy at The Union Institute and University and an adjunct faculty member for the health policy doctoral program at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. In June 2005, the University of the Sciences named her Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year for “outstanding contribution to scholarship.”

Ms. Plager was particularly committed to expanding access and fairness for low-income women, children, and the elderly. When she moved to Philadelphia in 1970, she was a policy planner for the School District and worked with women’s health organizations. She was the executive director of the Women’s Medical Services Center from 1972 to 1974. In 1974, she was one of the founders of the Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center for Women.

As director of programs at the Family Planning Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania from 1974 to 1984, Ms. Plager expanded services to thousands of women and adolescents in the five-county area.

Ms. Plager served as the first president and CEO of Health Partners of Philadelphia from 1985 to 1998. In 2005, Health Partners expressed its gratitude for her dedication to improving health in Philadelphia by presenting her with a Lifetime Contribution Award. The award included a cash amount that she directed to the Institute for Safe Families, an innovative new health organization in Philadelphia.

One of her most treasured accomplishments in the last few years was the successful capital campaign she co-chaired for the Plymouth Meeting Friends School. As a result, the elementary/K-8 school, which her two children attended, was able to construct both the Steinbright Building containing a gymnasium and 300 seat theater and the Art Studio building. She was the treasurer of the board of directors for Spectrum Health Services; in the United Way Executive Cabinet; on the Forum of Executive Women; the Steering Committee of the Consortium for Latino Health; co-chair of the corporate campaign of African American Interdenominational Ministries; board member of the Maternity Care Coalition and of the Pennsylvania Women’s Campaign Fund.

Ms. Plager is survived by her husband of 26 years, Stephen A. Unger, DDS; her children Clayton Plager-Unger and Rose C. Plager-Unger; her brother Dean R. Plager and his wife; her sister Joanne C. Olson and her husband and children.

A memorial service will be held in the future. Memorial contributions may be made to the Institute for Safe Families, 3502 Scotts Lane, Building One, Suite 4, Phila., PA 19129, or to Wissahickon Hospice, 1 Presidential Blvd., Suite 125, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004.

Dennis Bireley

Dennis Bireley, 49, of Wyndmoor (formerly of Downingtown) died on November 14 at his residence.

Mr. Bireley was a graduate of Downingtown High School and Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He worked as a graphic artist and web designer. He was an accomplished golfer, an avid sports enthusiast, an incorrigible supporter of the Phillies and Nittany Lions, and an insatiable traveler. During his illness he served on the board of The Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the ALS Association.

Mr. Bireley is survived by his wife, Catherine Boyd, his parents, Don and Jane Bireley of Downingtown, his brother Randy Bireley of Pottstown, and sisters Sandy Piersol of Downingtown and Sharon Escobar of Phoenixville.

A memorial service was held on Nov. 21 at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church in Chestnut Hill.

Memorial contributions may be made to The Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the ALS Association, 321 Norristown Road, Suite 260, Ambler, PA 19002 or to The Fund for Johns Hopkins Medicine, The Robert Packard Center, One Charles Center, 100 N. Charles Street, Suite 405, Baltimore, MD 21201.

Virginia Williamson

Virginia F. Williamson (“Mitzi”) (nee Fromuth), of Gwynedd Estates in Springhouse, a former Fort Washington resident, died Nov. 15 at her home.

Born in Philadelphia, she was the daughter of the late Carl and Mae Steinbach Fromuth. She graduated from Germantown High School and from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta Sorority. Following graduation, she was an elementary teacher in the Philadelphia school system. After starting her family, she returned to teaching, this time at Germantown Academy in Fort Washington where she was an instructor for 10 years. She then taught at Saint Thomas’ Nursery School in Whitemarsh for six years until her retirement in 1984.

Mrs. Williamson was the co-founder of S.P.O.F.F. (the Society for the Preservation of Fun and Frolic), a local social group continuing to enjoy each other’s company since 1964. In addition, she was a lifetime member of the Colony Club of Ambler, and also a member of the Queen Anne Questers, Liberty Trails, Cricket-on-the-Hearth Club and the Contemporary Club. She was active in her church circle at the First Presbyterian Church of Ambler, and was a longtime volunteer for the American Lung Association.

Mrs. Williamson vacationed with her family in Ocean City, NJ and made frequent trips to the Carolina coast, Florida and elsewhere.

A memorial service celebrating her life was held on Nov. 19 at the First Presbyterian Church of Ambler. Interment was private at West Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Abramson Cancer Center at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, c/o Daniel Haller, M.D., 16 Penn Tower, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104.