William Behrend
March 20, 1926 - May 18, 2024
Funeral Information
May 21 2024 - 11:00 am
West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4720 Perry Highway, Pittsburgh (Ross Township) 15229
WILLIAM BEHREND: On Saturday, May 18, 2024, age 98, of Oakland after a brief illness. William (Bill) Behrend was born March 20, 1926 in Jersey City, NJ to Morris D. Behrend and Esther Cohen Behrend. He and his late brothers Daniel and Dean grew up in Maplewood, NJ. Bill was a graduate of Columbia High School and New York University. He was a veteran of WWII serving in the Army Air Corp. at Fort Dix, NJ. After the war, Bill moved to Pittsburgh to marry Celeste Silberstein and they settled in Squirrell Hill. He was a mortgage banker at Pittsburgh Mortgage Corp., a partner at Urban Development Corp. and then a real estate appraiser, developer and partner at Key Management Corp. with offices in Shadyside and on Murray Avenue where he was also a Notary Public for decades serving generations with their real estate and auto title work. Bill was particularly honored to assist Holocaust survivors in receiving reparations from Germany. He was also involved in politics running local campaigns, serving as precinct committeeman and active with the 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club. Bill was a survivor having been run over by a motorboat in his teens and a head-on car crash and Polio in his 20s. Despite these challenges, he maintained incredible, understated good humor and was never once heard to complain. At 98 he was still doing the NY Times crossword puzzle everyday in ink. He was the beloved husband of the late Celeste Silberstein Behrend (1928-2009) and father of Samuel (Mary Ann O'Neil) of Tucson, AZ, Bernhard (Stefanie Forscher Behrend) of Pittsburgh and Charles (Nancy Gondleman) Behrend of Denver, CO. Grandfather of Margot, Vanessa, Daniel, Kacy, Georgia and Andrew and great-grandfather of Maya, Claire, Jacob, Avery and Luka; nieces Celia Jane and Julie; nephews Douglas, Andrew (deceased) and Richard. Graveside Service and Interment will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at 11 AM at West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh or charity of one's choice. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. www.schugar.com
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To Bill’s huge family: You have my sincerest condolences. I imagine that you must all feel blessed to have had this mensch in your life. While it is decades since I walked through the front door on Ferree Street, I can still vividly remember enjoying my time with the entire family, and remember Celeste and Bill as being gracious, warm, welcoming and interested in getting to know me, as a teenager and close friend of Sam’s.
I remember Bill’s lightness of being and feeling comfortable being around him, always…which was actually the case with every member of the family. I wish I could be with you tomorrow when you gather to celebrate a life well lived …and a wonderful patriarch. RIP, Bill!
Lots of love ❤️ …and sending hugs to many of you from Philly.
By Alex Lowy - May 24, 2024
Bill Behrend was always so kind to me, the child of divorced parents when nobody got divorced, just another acting-out smarty-pants overcompensating in Wightman school. Bill and Celeste (Sam's beautiful redheaded activist mom, who had once marched with MLK, accepted this Tishman waif. Bill, 98 years old, a polio survivor, circumspect, balanced, fair, clearheaded, and to me, once-adrift, always kind. Thank you as well, for helping bring me my longtime friend Sam, and for living a fiercely independent life
in a world where blame and victimhood have become professions, for remaining openhearted and buoyant, navigating nearly a century in our world of frequent challenge. A good life lived, Bill Behrend!
By A. E. Tishman - May 23, 2024
I had the privilege of getting to know Bill and Celeste and their family many years ago. They were wonderful, warm, gracious people who left the world a better place. My sincere condolences.
By Oren Spiegler - May 22, 2024
To Bill’s huge family: You have my sincerest condolences. I imagine that you must all feel blessed to have had this mensch in your life. While it is decades since I walked through the front door on Ferree Street, I can still vividly remember enjoying my time with the entire family, and remember Celeste and Bill as being gracious, warm, welcoming and interested in getting to know me, as a teenager and close friend of Sam’s.
I remember Bill’s lightness of being and feeling comfortable being around him, always…which was actually the case with every member of the family. I wish I could be with you tomorrow when you gather to celebrate a life well lived …and a wonderful patriarch. RIP, Bill!
Lots of love ❤️ …and sending hugs to many of you from Philly.
By Alex Lowy - May 20, 2024
Sam--so sorry to hear the news. May your many memories bring you comfort in the days ahead.
By Jeanne Lindauer Hartig - May 20, 2024
Sorry for your loss. Sounds like he led a full life.
By JOEL S PRETZ & LINDA J MILLER-PRETZ - May 20, 2024
Bill’s passing leaves a hole in humanity. He was a loving person .
By Wendy Simons - May 19, 2024
So sorry for your loss.
By Ellen DeBenedetti - May 19, 2024