C. Ermentrout; survived wreck

Charles Benton Ermentrout Jr., 91, one of the last survivors of the 1921 Bryn Athyn passenger train wreck in which 21 people were killed, died of multiple organ failure June 10 at Pennswood Village in Newtown. He was a longtime resident of Bucks County.

The wreck was one of the worst railroad accidents to occur in this region. More than 70 people were injured, mostly with burns, after the head-on collision of two passenger trains near Bryn Athyn. Hot coals from the steam engines' boilers fell onto the roofs of the wooden coaches, trapping many inside. The accident occurred on the Newtown branch of the Reading Railroad. As a result of the crash, the Interstate Commerce Commission mandated that all railway cars be built of steel.

Mr. Ermentrout, then just a child, had been on the train with his father and his sister. All survived.

"My grandfather, who normally rode in the front car of the passenger train to Philadelphia each day, was taking my father and aunt to see the Christmas sights in Center City," said Sandy Rotenberg, Mr. Ermentrout's daughter. "The children were in the third car when the accident happened. My grandfather had walked to the first car to visit his friends. He was not rescued until days later."

"My father, who had a mind like a memory chip, remembered every detail of that accident."

Mr. Ermentrout was born in West Philadelphia and graduated from Friends Select School in 1934. He earned a certificate in accounting from the University of Pennsylvania and later became a certified public accountant.

He married Harriet Curtin in 1939 and raised two children in Bucks County. She was a talented watercolorist.

Mr. Ermentrout was a medic in combat in Europe during World War II.

He worked as an accountant for several companies before founding an accounting firm with several colleagues. He worked until four years ago.

Mr. Ermentrout loved to cook gourmet food, tour Europe, and vacation in Maine and the Virgin Islands.

"He walked on the street side of a lady, opened car doors, dressed impeccably, and had the ability to be firm with a twinkle in his eye," his daughter said.

In 1993, he moved to Pennswood Village, where he exercised daily, had lunch buddies, and was in the theater club.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Ermentrout is survived by a son, Carl; three grandchildren; one sister; and a brother.

Services are private. Donations may be made to Pennswood Village, 1382 Newtown-Langhorne Rd. Newtown, Pa. 18940.