Albert Scherr III

WILLIAMSTOWN -- Albert Edward Scherr III, 85, of 300 Petersburg Road died March 28 at home. He was a former chairman of the town Finance Committee

Born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., on Nov. 26, 1921, son of Albert E. Scherr Jr. and Marguerite Schwiers Scherr, he graduated from the Loomis School in 1939 and from Yale University in 1942.

He was a Navy veteran of World War II.

While working as a chemical engineer for Dow Chemical, Mr. Scherr met his wife, the former Elizabeth Babcock, in New York City; they were married in 1949 in Stonington, Conn. They moved to Williamstown in 1950, where he worked for the former Sprague Electric Co. in North Adams.

He held patents for the mass production of electronic components. He was involved in the expansion of Sprague in the South and internationally. He traveled on business to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, with extended stays in Hong Kong, India and Italy. From 1969 to 1971, he lived in Milan, Italy, where he managed Sprague/CREAS.

He was vice president and assistant to the president of Sprague until retiring in 1986. He lived in Boston from 1985 to 1995, when he returned to Williamstown. He then divided his time between Williamstown and the North Woods Club in Minerva, N.Y., where he served as treasurer and member of the board.

Mr. Scherr was a member of the board of the Boys' Club and volunteered for the Berkshire chapter of Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic and at Milne Public Library, where he maintained a science bulletin board for many years. He also was president and member of the board of the Ten Bends Association in Morristown, Vt.

A fly fisherman, he fished streams in Massachusetts, Vermont and New York. He enjoyed science, literature and the arts, and for many years participated in a group that met regularly to converse in Italian. He visited Italy regularly.

He was predeceased by his wife in 1998.

He leaves a daughter, Elizabeth S. Poris of Upper Montclair, N.J.; three sons, Albert E. Scherr IV of Portsmouth, N.H., Alexander W. Scherr of Athens, Ga., and Edward P. Scherr of Danville, Calif.; and six grandchildren.

FUNERAL NOTICE -- A memorial service for Albert E. Scherr III, who died Wednesday, March 28, 2007, will be held May 19, 2007, at 11 a.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church on Park Street in Williamstown, followed by a reception at the Williams Inn. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Elizabeth B. and Albert E. Scherr Fund for Children, St. John's Church, 35 Park St., Williamstown, MA 01267, or to the VNA & Hospice of Northern Berkshire, 535 Curran Memorial Highway, North Adams, MA 01247, or through FLYNN & DAGNOLI-MONTAGNA HOME FOR FUNERALS, WEST CHAPEL, 521 West Main St., North Adams. Survivors include his children's spouses, James Poris, Susan Chamberlin, Candace Hawkes and Shelly Pozzi; and six grandchildren, Anna Elizabeth Schierberl Scherr, Charles Samuel Poris, William Edward Poris, Elizabeth Palmer Poris, McKenzie Palmer Scherr and Isabella Katherine Scherr Chamberlin.