Karl William Poorbaugh

Karl William Poorbaugh, 92, of Somerset and Naples, Florida, passed away peacefully on December 9, 2021. His cherished wife of 67 years, Mary Ann, was at his side, as was his youngest daughter Judy. Born at the family farm near Shanksville, PA, on July 21, 1929, to Ralph A. Poorbaugh and Edna Witt Poorbaugh, Karl was the third of four children. His mother Edna passed away in 1935 when Karl was six years old. His older sister Thelma and brother Arthur helped to raise him. He attended Stonycreek Twp. Consolidated School in Shanksville, and was a proud member of the basketball team that won 27 straight games and the Western Pennsylvania Class B Championship in 1946, losing the state championship by only 2 points. He attended Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster PA, graduating in 1951. While at F & M, Karl played varsity basketball and baseball, receiving three letters in each sport. He was an accomplished musician, playing trumpet solos with the F & M band throughout the eastern U.S. and in Florida, and serving as student conductor his senior year. He served as a class officer and was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. Upon graduation, Karl enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and received a 2nd Lieutenant commission after completing pilot training. He was assigned to the Strategic Air Command and was part of SAC’s pioneering air refueling program from 1953 through 1956. He served in the Far Eastern theater and Iceland, mostly in air refueling missions and compiled over two thousand five hundred hours of flying time while serving. While stationed at Bergstrom AFB in Austin, Texas, Karl met Mary Ann McHaney of San Antonio, Texas. They were married upon her graduation from the University of Texas in 1955. Karl later resigned from the Air Force and moved, with Mary Ann and their first child, Susan to Somerset, PA, stopping for six months in Memphis, Tennessee, to attend hardwood lumber inspection training school. He joined his brother Arthur in the lumber business, purchasing one half of the company his father Ralph had started. In 1961 he was elected to the Board of Directors of County Trust Co., Somerset. He became a trustee of Franklin & Marshall College in 1980. He served in many Masonic and Shrine activities, and was an active member of Rotary and the Lions Club throughout his adult life. He was a member of the Somerset chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. He served as Elder, Deacon, and Trustee on the church council of Saint Paul’s United Church of Christ, Somerset. He also served on the Board of Trustees of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and the Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Association. Among the residential and commercial markets Karl and Arthur developed for their business over the years, Karl was particularly proud of supplying specialty timbers for a collection of Native American artifacts in Washington, D.C. With friends, Dr. Stan Hay, Hans Stumpf, Dave Weimer, and Glenn Pfeiffer, Karl co-founded "Doc Hay and the Boys" in the early '60s, a popular Dixieland jazz group. With Carl Keiser, Tom Folen, Chuck Meyer, and others, the group has continued to grow and evolve into the present, as has the decades-long legacy of playing at Siemon's Nursing and Rehab Center. In 1988 he sold the lumber manufacturing operation, and for the last 35 years he and Mary Ann split their time between Somerset and Naples Florida, where he spent many happy hours on the golf course and tennis court, and entertained his children and grandchildren in his unforgettable style. He is survived by his wife Mary Ann, his sister Marlene, his daughters Susan Bernard and son-in-law Peter Bernard, Cindy and Judy, his grandchildren Clare, Andrew, Martin, and Alex, and his great-granddaughter Maeve. A memorial service will be held in Pennsylvania in the spring to be announced. Expressions of sympathy may be directed to any of the following: The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy 800 Waterfront Dr. Pittsburgh PA 15222, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ 202 W. Union St. Somerset PA 15501, or The Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County 10649 Somerset Pike Somerset PA 15501. Local arrangements by the Hauger-Zeigler Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Somerset. To leave a condolence please visit www.haugerzeigler.com

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