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- A644 Edward Albert Van Vlack, b. February 17, 1916 at West View Borough near Pittsburgh, Pa. and grew up in this rural community - with few paved street until the middle 20?s. Electricity came to the home in 1921 and the telephone in 1923. His father?s first car was a Dodge sedan in 1925 and it provided the means for many happy family outings.
Edward attended West View schools through Junior High (9th grade) and was on the varsity basketball and track teams there. He graduated from Perry High School, Pittsburgh, in 1936 and worked at Rust Engineering Corp. downtown office drafting section.
Prior to World War II in August of 1941, Edward enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and, at the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he was training at Keesler Field, Biloxi, Miss. AF Mechanics School and graduated a Tech. Sgt., Flight Engineer. His next duty was at Midland Fl Base (Texas) where he was an instructor, teaching groups on maintenance of planes used for the bombardiering school there. Edward embarked for overseas duty in 1943, joining the 317 Troop Carrier Squadron in New Guinea, then to the Philippines when recaptured, then to Okinawa. This group dropped paratroopers into battle and transported the sick and wounded to the Philippines for transfer to hospital ships to the states. While in Okinawa he barely survived the terrible typhoon of October 1945.
Ed was honorably discharged in February of 1946 and returned to the family home in Pittsburgh. In April of 1946 he began work in Auburn, N.Y. at Van?s Bakery, owned by his brother Clyde. He was responsible for the maintenance of machinery and equipment at this large bakery plant that served 75 retail bakery routes in the Auburn, Rochester, Syracuse area. In 1950 he returned to Pittsburgh and joined AFL Local 2235 Millwrights Union, where he became a specialist in the assembly and alignment of machinery, motors, and equipment for steel mills and electric power stations.
During this period, and until 1976, he lived at the family home in West View with his sister Gladys, who worked downtown, and his parents until the death of his father in 1966 and mother in 1971. On several occasions and for extended periods he took tine off from work to care for his aging parents as urgencies arose. His brothers and sisters were ever grateful for this kindness.
Ed was an attentive member of several Masonic orders beginning in 1951 - North Hills Blue Lodge #716, Knights Templar, Scottish Rite - 3 and Syria Temple Shriners.
On June 28, 1976 Edward married Vivian (Berkebile) Lockhart at a church in Las Vegas, Nevada. She lived in West View and was the widow of Jack Lockhart who died in 1971. Vivian and Jack Lockhart raised one daughter (adopted) who was born on May 28, 1952. She married Gary Fischer and had a son, born Sept. 10, 1971 (Jack). They were later divorced.
Vivian was born Oct. 6, 1924 at Somerset, Pa., the daughter of Fred D. and Mary (Zimmerman) Berkebile. Fred was a professor in Education and authored nine children?s books and many short stories for magazines. Vivian went to Juniata College 1941 to 1943, then into nursing school at Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, graduating RN in 1946 and began her career there in the operating room. She did nursing continuously until 1986, with stints in the nursery, private duty, and the emergency room at Suburban General Hospital, Bellevue, Pa., and later assisted Dr. Logan, an industrial practitioner.
In 1988 Ed and Vivian were living on Kenyon Ave. in the West View Borough area amongst life long friends, and enjoying their hobbies of gardening and travel, Masonic and Eastern Star work. Vivian was elected to the office of Worthy Matron of Bellevue Chapter of the Order of Eastern Star in 1987.
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1916 - 1998 (82 years)