Charles G. Berwind Jr., 81; headed his family's company

Charles G. Berwind Jr., 81, of Center City, former head of Berwind Group, his family's investment management firm, died of cancer on Wednesday, Nov. 3, at his home.

The family's public-relations firm, the Tierney Agency, said Mr. Berwind, known as Graham, was born in Paoli and graduated from the Putney (Vt.) School in 1947. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree at the University of Vermont in 1951 and an M.B.A. at Harvard Business School in 1953, and then served two years as a Coast Guard officer.

In 1955, he joined Berwind-White Coal Mining Co., which his family had founded in 1886. He worked at its operations in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, and in 1958 became liaison between the mines and their Philadelphia headquarters.

In 1962, he helped the firm begin to diversify. According to a company profile, it went into categories such as "pharmaceutical, specialty chemical, office and craft, automotive, pet food and natural resources."

Newspaper reports stated that in the 1960s, he was a director of the local chapter of Americans for the Competitive Enterprise System. In 1967 and 1971, he was elected a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

In 1972, Mr. Berwind succeeded his father as chairman of the firm and in 1997 retired as president and chief executive officer. He served as cochairman until 2006.

His wife, Joanne, said Mr. Berwind was a member of the Union League, the Everglades Club in Palm Beach, Fla., and the Pot and Kettle in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Besides his wife, Mr. Berwind is survived by sons Charles G. III and James; daughters Jessica and Joanna Creamer; a brother; a sister; a grandson; three granddaughters; and his first wife, Sandra.

A funeral service was set for 10:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 8, at the Church of the Holy Trinity, 1904 Walnut St., followed by a reception at the Rittenhouse Hotel, 210 W. Rittenhouse Square.