Obituary for Philip Byron Fleck
Philip B. “Phil” Fleck, of Oley, passed away peacefully at the age of 77 in his home surrounded by his family on May 24th, 2021. Phil was preceded in death by his father, Byron, mother, Phyllis (Bridgeman) and brother, Daryl. Phil was born on May 6th, 1944 in Cheltenham, England and arrived in the United States at the age of 2 on the Queen Mary. Phil earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University in 1967. He attended University of Pennsylvania for graduate work in mechanical engineering and also attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Phil designed and built medical devices for most of his professional career. He was employed by Atlas Chemical Industries and Rockwell International, then continued his career as an engineer at Arrow International for over 34 years, retiring as President and COO in 2005, with oversight of worldwide R & D and manufacturing. Upon his retirement from Arrow, Phil continued working in medical technology, serving as a Director at venture capital firm, Norwich Ventures. Phil was an inventor of multiple patents throughout his career, served on the board of several medical startups, and was on the executive board of the Life Science Greenhouse of Central Pennsylvania. In addition to his professional work, Phil was also very community minded and philanthropic. He previously served on the boards of the Hawk Mountain Council BSA, Penn State Berks Campus, Burn Prevention Foundation, Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles, Manufacturers Association of Berks County and the Berks Economic Partnership.
Phil always had a quest for learning, knowledge and conversation. He had numerous hobbies including photography, travel, antique stereos, stamp and vintage train collecting. Phil was particularly passionate about collecting and restoring classic automobiles. He was an avid member of the car collecting community and judged at numerous concours events around the country.
His greatest love was his family: He was married to his wife Judith (Steurer) on October 7, 1967 and enjoyed 54 incredible years together. He had two children, Jennifer and Jonathan, husband of Daphne (Palmer), and four grandchildren, Nicholas (Kline), Devon (Kline), Jonathan “JP” Fleck and Jacob Fleck. He also leaves behind his sister, Anne Kaczorowski, wife of Jim, and three nephews and four nieces.
Funeral Services will be private with a celebration of Phil’s life to be held at the family’s convenience. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Oley Valley Community Education Foundation (oleyvalleycef.com) or the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles (boyertownmuseum.org). Edward J. Kuhn Funeral Home, Inc., West Reading is honored to serve the Fleck family. Condolences may be expressed at www.kuhnfuneralhomes.com.
Phil designed and built medical devices for most of his professional career. He was employed by Atlas Chemical Industries and Rockwell International, then continued his career as an engineer at Arrow International for over 34 years, retiring as President and COO in 2005, with oversight of worldwide R & D and manufacturing. Upon his retirement from Arrow, Phil continued working in medical technology, serving as a Director at venture capital firm, Norwich Ventures. Phil was an inventor of multiple patents throughout his career, served on the board of several medical startups, and was on the executive board of the Life Science Greenhouse of Central Pennsylvania. In addition to his professional work, Phil was also very community minded and philanthropic. He previously served on the boards of the Hawk Mountain Council BSA, Penn State Berks Campus, Burn Prevention Foundation, Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles, Manufacturers Association of Berks County and the Berks Economic Partnership.
Phil always had a quest for learning, knowledge and conversation. He had numerous hobbies including photography, travel, antique stereos, stamp and vintage train collecting. Phil was particularly passionate about collecting and restoring classic automobiles. He was an avid member of the car collecting community and judged at numerous concours events around the country.
His greatest love was his family: He was married to his wife Judith (Steurer) on October 7, 1967 and enjoyed 54 incredible years together. He had two children, Jennifer and Jonathan, husband of Daphne (Palmer), and four grandchildren, Nicholas (Kline), Devon (Kline), Jonathan “JP” Fleck and Jacob Fleck. He also leaves behind his sister, Anne Kaczorowski, wife of Jim, and three nephews and four nieces.
Funeral Services will be private with a celebration of Phil’s life to be held at the family’s convenience. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Oley Valley Community Education Foundation (oleyvalleycef.com) or the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles (boyertownmuseum.org). Edward J. Kuhn Funeral Home, Inc., West Reading is honored to serve the Fleck family. Condolences may be expressed at www.kuhnfuneralhomes.com.