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Dec. 25, 1930 — July 19, 2019
Phillip Oliver Elbert died peacefully on July 19th, 2019 in Reno, Nevada.
Phil was born on Christmas Day, 1930 to Susan (Hatch) and William Elbert in Williams Bay, Wisconsin where his father owned the local barber shop for four decades. He attended Williams Bay School from kindergarten through high school graduation where he was valedictorian and a varsity basketball player.
He then attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1952. He was a member and cabinet officer at the fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta and part of ROTC. In 1952 he married Margaret Jarrard of Fontana, Wisconsin. They had three children together.
He married Tedy Elbert in 1985 in San Francisco, California and they spent over three loving decades together. With her, Phil enjoyed an active lifestyle which included golfing, boating, travelling, socializing, and enjoying their pet Himalayan cats. Phil loved fine dining and wine and enjoyed residing in many parts of the country including on their boat in San Diego. Most recently he spent time between residences in Scottsdale, Arizona and Incline Village, Nevada.
Phil served as a lieutenant in the United States Air Force in Blaine, Washington. After leaving the Air Force, he had a long and distinguished business career.
After accepting a sales position for Rockford Machine Tool, he was later promoted to Sales Manager. He then accepted a position at Allied Structural Steel in Hammond, Indiana, where he eventually became president. He later was with Inland Steel Corporation in Chicago, president of Flint Steel in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and then co-owner of Chicago Steel Corporation. He then executed a merger of Chicago Steel with publicly traded PDM Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he became CEO and chairman of the board. He loved his career; it energized him and he did not retire until the age of 70. He was a well-regarded member of his industry and became Chairman of the American Institute of Steel Construction. He was also proud of his MBA from the Sloan School at MIT. His firms participated in steel construction of the John Hancock Building, the Sears Tower, two Merchandise Marts, the Civic Center, and the First National Bank in Chicago along with countless buildings, bridges, water towers, refineries, and electric generation plants across the country.
Phil was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, William J. Elbert, and his sister, Donna D. Elbert. He is survived by his wife Tedy, daughters Susan Steele and M. Joanne Kantner, son Phillip (Kristin) Elbert, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services will be private. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Pet Network, 401 Village Blvd, Incline Village NV 89451.
Lake Geneva Regional News - Jul 25, 2019
