Milton S. Stearns Jr., 91, business executive

Milton Sprague Stearns Jr., 91, a business executive and former longtime resident of Gladwyne, died Monday, March 30, of complications from pneumonia in a nursing facility near his home in Delray Beach, Fla.

Mr. Stearns was former chairman of Judson Infrared Inc., a company in Fort Washington that made infrared detectors. He was founder and president of Charter Financial Co., a financial consulting firm in Philadelphia and later in Radnor.

Mr. Stearns was a former group vice president of the Fidelity Bank, now part of Wells Fargo, before creating Charter Financial. He never retired, staying engaged with the financial markets until the end, his family said.

Over the years, he served on the boards of directors of the West Co. (now West Pharmaceutical Services Inc.), Safeguard Industries, CFM Technologies, Kawecki Berylco Industries, National Valve & Manufacturing Co., Zabel Bros. Co., Mother's Work Inc., and Gulfstream Land & Development Corp.

In addition, starting in 1976, he was identified with a number of venture capital start-up companies, principally in high-tech fields.

Born in New York City, Mr. Stearns grew up in New England and graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy, Harvard University, and Harvard Business School. At Harvard, he belonged to the Spee Club and Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770.

He was a lieutenant junior grade in the Navy during World War II, serving in the Pacific.

He married Virginia McCormick in June 1948. The two moved to Bryn Mawr and eventually settled in Gladwyne.

He focused on business and she raised the couple's five children. According to her obituary, she "often joked that she lived in her Country Squire station wagon, making rounds to various schools and extracurricular activities."

The couple traveled the globe with their family and hosted "wonderful annual Christmas open house parties for decades."

"They were very well-attended," his daughter, Kathryn S. Sergio, said of the parties.

Mr. Stearns' wife died in 2012 at age 88.

Active as a volunteer for various charitable and educational institutions, Mr. Stearns served as a member of the board of trustees of Hahnemann University, the Baldwin School, and the Franklin Institute. He was a member of the board of trustees of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church and served as its president from 1993 to 1995. Later, he was president of the Main Line Adult Day Center.

Mr. Stearns also was an avid sportsman. He skied and played tennis and golf. At the time of his death, he belonged to the Merion Golf Club, Merion Cricket Club, and the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society.

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by two other daughters, Virginia P. and Barbara S. Terry, and four grandchildren. A daughter, Elizabeth S., died in 1969, and a son, John B., died in 1997.

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 8, in the chapel of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, 625 Montgomery Ave. Burial will be private at Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Mass.

Contributions may be made to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, Box 515, Northampton, Mass. 01061, or the First Tee of the Palm Beaches, 7301 N. Haverhill Rd., West Palm Beach, Fla. 33407.