Eberhard "Eb" Faber IV

1936 - 2022

Eberhard "Eb" Faber IV, of Bear Creek, a businessman and philanthropist who ran the Eberhard Faber pencil company for many years and also served on numerous boards of directors, passed away Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, in Geisinger Hospital. The cause of death was a heart attack. He was 85.

Born at Doctor's Hospital on Manhattan's Upper East Side in 1936, Eb grew up on Fifth Avenue with his father, Eberhard III; mother, Julia T. Faber; and sister, Theo. In 1946, he lost his father and uncle in a drowning accident at the Jersey shore. He attended Dalton School and Collegiate Academy, where he skipped ahead two grades; he also served as child reporter and emcee for the radio (and later television) show "Child's World," in which capacity he interviewed numerous celebrities, including his idol, baseball legend Jackie Robinson, in 1948; he was himself profiled in Life magazine in the same year. At 13, he was the boys' table tennis champion of New York City; later, he led the championship Collegiate team on the popular Triple B Ranch kids' radio quiz show, hosted by Bob Smith, aka "Howdy Doody."

After graduating from Milton Academy, Eb entered Princeton University in 1953, at the age of 16, where he served as reporter and editor of the student paper, the Daily Princetonian, for four years, working alongside such future luminaries as R. W. Apple and Robert Caro. After graduating from Princeton in 1957 (Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude), he taught American history and literature at Caen, France, on a Fulbright scholarship. That same year, Eberhard Faber, Inc. moved out of New York City, where it had operated since its 1849 founding, and from its factory location in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to the Wyoming Valley, opening a new plant at the Crestwood Industrial park, Mountain Top.

Eb married Ellen Scurria, Harrisburg, in 1958, and the couple lived for a period in France before returning to the States in 1960 so that Eb could complete his six months' Army service. The couple had two sons, Eberhard V., in 1966, and Anthony, in 1968, before separating in 1972.

Throughout the 1970s, Eb worked full time for EF Inc., eventually becoming president, CEO and chairman - a span during which he returned the ailing writing instrument manufacturer to profitability, a process he described in a 1977 Fortune magazine article. In 1979, he married Mary Louise Carey Smith, of Baltimore, Md., an attorney who eventually practiced in employment gender discrimination law in Wilkes-Barre, and became stepfather to Georgia, Margaret, Mark and Deirdre Smith. Eb was married to Mary Louise for 40 years until she passed away in 2019.

In the 1980s, Eb served as a director in the Philadelphia branch of the Federal Reserve, which led to him meeting then-Fed chairman, Paul Volcker, and profiling him in a 1986 Fortune magazine piece, "Fly Fishing With Volcker." That same year, Eb sold Eberhard Faber Inc. to Faber-Castell, and retired after 20 years of guiding the historic writing instrument manufacturer.

For the next 36 years of his life, Eb served on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards of directors. Closest to his heart was the service he was able to render to King's College, where he served on the board from 1980 to 2022 and was chairman from 1997 to 2010. He believed earnestly in the King's educational mission and contributed time, money and ingenuity in the cause of widening educational opportunities. In 2012, Eb greatly appreciated being awarded an honorary doctorate "for outstanding service to King's and the liberal arts." In the words of former President Fr. Thomas O'Hara, "Eb Faber's insights, business acumen, professional experience, contacts and ability to relate to all members of the board were only exceeded by his absolute admiration for the mission of King's College and his genuine love for our students. It was a deep honor of my life to be associated with this great man."

Eb also served on corporate boards, including First Eastern and PNC Banks, The Citizens' Voice newspaper and real estate investment trust W. P. Carey, where he served from its public listing in 1998 until 2015. Jason Fox, of Carey, reflected that "[O]ver 17 years, he was a great mentor to us all, especially our founder, Bill Carey, and helped guide the company through periods of significant change and growth." Eb also supported Geisinger Hospital for almost 30 years as donor and volunteer, serving on numerous committees, including the Geisinger Advisory Council, the Geisinger Wyoming Valley Advisory council and the Pearsall Heart Hospital Cardiac Rehab program. Cheryl Connolly, of Geisinger, offered this tribute: "Philanthropy at heart begins with time, advocacy and passion. Eberhard Faber emulated these values as a forward-thinking leader who chose to help others by giving himself to the many roles he served. His commitment to the community was unwavering, as those who were fortunate to serve alongside him know. Most recently, Faber's generous support was instrumental in bringing the new Wellness Trail to life at Geisinger Wyoming Valley."

Finally and most recently, he and Mary Louise were strong supporters of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children). He was a founding member of CASA Luzerne County in 2013, served on the board from 2013 to 2019, received the organization's inaugural service achievement award along with Mary Louise and supported CASA up to his death.

While the world knew Eb as a businessman, his family and closest friends knew him as a warm, kind, funny and sharply intelligent lover of books, cards, games of all sorts, fishing and sports. He remained a lifelong Dodgers fan even after their move to Los Angeles. He was a formidable tennis player who loved playing net and winning points on tricky drop shots (as a young man, he was offered a tennis scholarship to the University of North Carolina before ultimately opting for Princeton).

In the 1960s he took up chess and played competitively, eventually working his way up to a USCF, rating of over 2200. His love of cards came from early childhood - both his grandfather, Eberhard II, and his great-uncle, John Eberhard, had been previous presidents of the American Whist League and trained young Eb in competitive play for money. This led both to thousands of family games of Oh Hell, and also to Eb's love of competitive poker. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he played in a high stakes private game in New York City, in which most participants were writers and editors at Fortune or other Time/Life magazines. Later, he discovered a love of competitive casino Texas Hold 'Em, which he continued to enjoy until several weeks before his death, playing five times every week at the Mohegan Sun casino poker room. His success was such that poker players in the greater Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area breathed a collective sigh of relief with the news of Eb's passing.

Eb was an avid fly fisherman until 2019; in addition to cards and games, fishing was one of Eb's greatest joys. He took up fly fishing in the 1970s and fished avidly at Blakeslee's Dream Mile Club on the Tobyhanna, and on numerous trips to Colorado, Argentina and New Zealand. He loved dry flies and an evening rise most of all, and was described by a knowledgeable career guide as "a menace to trout." When not fishing, he also enjoyed hikes in the outdoors and cross country skiing, especially after 1982, when he purchased the 350-acre property in Bear Creek where he lived the rest of his life, eventually putting it into a land trust.

In addition to cards, games and fishing, Eb loved books, from Dostoeyevsky, on whose "The Gambler" he wrote his Princeton thesis, to mystery novels from John Dickson Carr, Greg Iles, James Lee Burke and many others. He loved his dogs, all of whom were shamefully spoiled by his inability to resist feeding them some of whatever he was eating. He loved raw oysters, lobster, steak tartare, unfiltered cigarettes, good wine and ridiculously strong gin martinis. Above all, he took pleasure in his family, in the love and company of his sons, stepchildren, nieces and nephews, and of course in the growth and exploits of his many grandchildren.

He is survived by his two sons from his first marriage, Eberhard L. Faber V and his wife, Lisa Snyder and their two children, Millie and Eberhard VI; and Tony Faber and his wife, Joyce Jang. He is also survived by four stepchildren, Georgie Smith, Marnie Smith, Deirdre Smith and Mark Smith; as well as 10 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, five nieces and nephews, his beloved golden retriever, Latte, close friends and associates and many more who will fondly remember his sharp intelligence, his sense of humor, his many stories and above all his gentle, kind and generous demeanor.

He was hardly ever known to raise his voice or to say an unkind word. Perhaps because of his early experience of loss, he always seemed possessed of a deep knowledge of how fragile life is, and to appreciate, as we all should, how fortunate we all are to be here. In the last year he would often reflect with heartfelt conviction on what a good life he had had.

He was loved and will be missed by countless people in many walks of life, whose lives he touched in ways great and small.

A public service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at King's College Chapel, 29 W. North St., Wilkes-Barre. Guests are urged to wear masks inside the chapel.

In lieu of flowers, we ask for donations to the Eberhard Faber Scholarship Fund at King's College.

Arrangements were with Mamary-Durkin Funeral & Cremation Services, 59 Parrish St., Wilkes-Barre.