Edward Fernberger

Edward Fernberger, 86, Chair of Tennis Championships September 17, 2009

Edward Fernberger, who co-chaired what became the U.S. Pro Indoor Tennis Championships for more than three decades, died Aug. 24. A resident of Rydal, he was 86. Fernberger grew up in Germantown and graduated from Germantown Friends School in 1941. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, where he participated in campaigns throughout the South Pacific including New Guinea, Peleleu and the Phillippines.

He returned to Philadelphia following the war and completed his education at the University of Pennsylvania.

Fernberger, who chaired the tournaments with his wife, the former Marilyn Friedman, was also involved in photography. He donated more than 100,000 photos to the archives of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I., together with an extensive collection of tennis memorabilia.

He was a lifetime board member of the Philadelphia Police Athletic League, a 60-year board member of Mt. Sinai Cemetery and was its president at the time of his death. He served on the Philadelphia Citizens Crime Commission, the board of the Philadelphia Sports Congress and volunteered at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

In addition to his wife of 63 years, Fernberger is survived by daughter Ellen Fernberger; sons Edward Fernberger Jr. and James Fernberger; four grandchildren; and a great-grandson.

Friends and family are invited to a memorial service on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 3 p.m., at the Germantown Friends School Meeting House at 31 W. Coulter St.

Contributions in his memory can be made to: the Philadelphia Police Athletic League; Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis & Education, 2524 E. Clearfield St., Philadelphia, PA 19134; or the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104.