William C. Biddle
William Biddle was a twice-widowed, retired chief executive in his late 70s, and Margaret "Meg" Hoffman was a widowed nurse, 14 years his junior, when they met on the eHarmony Internet dating site.
"The magic happened," said the woman who became Mrs. Biddle in 2004, a year after the couple connected online and had their first in-person date at a Borders bookstore.
In the decade they spent together after they married, they attended Pittsburgh Symphony concerts and helped people at food pantries and on church mission trips.
"It was fun and it was rewarding," she said of their volunteer pursuits. "My husband was not born with a silver spoon, so he could identify with the needs of food banks and missions."
Mr. Biddle, an engineer by training who rose up the ranks to become president and chief executive at National Valve & Manufacturing Co., died after a short illness Wednesday at The Willows at Presbyterian SeniorCare in Oakmont.
He was 89.
Mr. Biddle, who lived in Fox Chapel, was born and raised in Carmichaels, Greene County, and was determined at a young age not to stay and work in the coal mines that were the main industry in his hometown, said his daughter, Susan Hoehl of Squirrel Hill.
"His family didn't have a lot, but he had a motivation to succeed," she said.
After returning from service in the Navy during World War II, Mr. Biddle earned an engineering degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He joined the Arabian American Oil Co. (Aramco) in the early 1950s and worked in Saudi Arabia for about four years until his first wife, Elizabeth, died and he returned to Pittsburgh with the couple's daughter, Mrs. Hoehl, who was less than a year old.
He later married Mary Rager Biddle, with whom he had two children.
At National Valve, which produced metal piping for heavy industry and for major nuclear power plants including some designed by Westinghouse Electric and some operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, Mr. Biddle made his mark in engineering sales, said his wife.
"He absolutely loved his work and the people he worked with," she said. "It was a good fit because he was such a people person."
When the business was sold in 1983 to Austin Industries of Dallas, Texas, Mr. Biddle stayed on as an executive until the new owner closed its Pittsburgh-area plants in 1988.
During his retirement, he played golf at the Pittsburgh Field Club, and was active at Parkwood United Presbyterian Church, Hampton, as an elder and as a member of the Stephen's Ministry, which provides one-on-one support to people experiencing tough times.
In addition to his wife and daughter, survivors include a son, Charles Biddle of Naples, Fla.; another daughter, Laura Loeffler of Fox Chapel; and five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
The funeral is at 11 a.m. today at Shadyside Presbyterian Church, 5121 Westminster Place, Shadyside.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Pittsburgh Food Bank, 1 North Linden St., Duquesne, PA 15110; or Light of Life Missions, 10 E. North Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15212.