Charles C. Bearoff | Business owner, 87

Charles C. Bearoff, 87, of Wayne, a business owner and sportsman, died of heart failure Monday at home.

Mr. Bearoff graduated from Bridgeport High School, where he was captain of the football team. He attended Fork Union Military Academy and the College of William and Mary in Virginia and played football for both schools.

During World War II, he served in the Army with the 34th Infantry Division. Named the "Red Bull" for its sleeve insignia, the 34th was in six major campaigns in North Africa and Italy, including the landings at Salerno and Anzio and the Battle of Monte Cassino.

After the war he played football with the Washington Redskins organization for two seasons, his family said. He then  joined Bearoff Bros., a trucking company in Bridgeport his family founded in 1918, and eventually took it over. He expanded the firm to include scrap-metal recovery and recycling operations and established an environmental business, cleaning up toxic sites in Europe.

He was inducted into the Bridgeport Hall of Fame in 2004.

An avid fisherman and boater, Mr. Bearoff was a founding member of the Cape May Marlin and Tuna Club.

He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Florence Weaver Bearoff; a sister; and a grandson. He was preceded in death by his sons, Charles and Ronald; a daughter, Carolyn; and his former wife, Mae Bearoff.

A Funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Mother of Divine Providence Roman Catholic Church, 333 Allendale Rd., King of Prussia. Friends may call from 9 a.m.