Frederick Biesecker

Frederick Nelson Bie-secker, 74, President and CEO of Drug Plastics and Glass Company, Inc., died Friday, Oct. 12 with his family around him.

A native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, he attended Scranton Central High School and simultaneously earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.

He was a student at Penn State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, was President of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity and met his wife, Suzanne Kohler. They married in 1960 at the Valley Forge chapel on the grounds of the historic Valley Forge battlefield.

He had always wanted to own his own business, so in 1963, in the basement of their home in Boyertown, PA, Fred and Suzanne established Drug Plastics and Glass Company, with the intention of becoming an early supplier of plastic pre-scriptionware vials to drug-stores. He guided the company with a mix of vision, innovation, leadership and sound business practices. He was known simply as "Mr. B" within the company, and he cared deeply for his extended "DPG Family". Under his direction, Drug Plastics has since grown from the original factory in Boyertown, PA, to include a mold manufacturing company and eight factories across the United States. The little company in the basement of their home is now a major supplier of plastic bottles and child-resistant safety caps to pharmaceutical companies around the world.

Fred was a current member of the Board of Trustees of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and a past member of the boards of Jocelyn Diabetes Center in Boston, MA, Hamilton Bank of Reading and Kutztown University. He was a member of the Society of Plastics Engineers, Council on Plastic Packaging and the Environment, American Diabetes Association and the Children's Circle of Care Society. He founded the Fred and Suzanne Biesecker Pediatric Liver Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and later established a Chair in Biliary Atresia. He was awarded the Distinguished Golden Eagle Award by the Boy Scouts of America, and the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Society of Plastics Engineers, and was honored as an Alumni Fellow by Penn State University. He also supported many local charities and organizations, including the Biesecker Children's Library in Boyertown. He was an avid fly fisherman, outdoorsman and sports fan.

In addition to his wife, Suzanne, Fred is survived by his son, Frederick "Rick" Biesecker, and his wife, Kelly, daughter, Lissa Biesecker Longacre, and her husband, Jeff, and daughter, Britta Lynn Biesecker; grand-daughters: Ava Longacre, Mya Longacre, Sophie Bie-secker and grandson, Fred-erick "Trip" Biesecker.

Relatives and friends are invited to a visitation with the family Friday, Oct. 19 from 5–8 p.m. and from 9-11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012, in the Church of the Good Shepherd UCC., 35 West Philadelphia Avenue, Boyertown, PA 19512. Funeral services will begin at the conclusion of the visitation on Saturday in the church. Rev. Dennis P. Christie will officiate. Interment will be private. Arrangements are being handled by the Houck & Gofus Funeral Home, Inc., of Pottstown, PA.