Dr. Edward A. Brethauer Jr.

Edward Albert Brethauer Jr., of Monroeville, died Tuesday, March 4, 2008. He was the beloved husband of 68 years to Alberna Elizabeth Brethauer; loving father of Darlene A. McCarthy, of Franklin Park, and Edward A. Brethauer III, of Monroeville; father-in-law to Kenneth R. McCarthy, of Franklin Park, and devoted grandfather to Ryan Scott McCarthy, of Bellevue, and Brooke Erin McCarthy, of Chicago. Dr. Brethauer had practiced internal medicine and cardiology in the Oakland area for well over 30 years after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, affiliating himself with the Presbyterian, Montefiore and West Penn hospitals over that period of time in addition to conducting his own private practice. He also had served as a cardiology consultant for the Deshon Veterans Hospital in Butler and had been the initiator of a cardiology department at the Homestead Hospital in Munhall, for which he had served as a director for 10 years. During the early years of his private practice, Dr. Brethauer had expressed a strong interest in the preventative medical area, which focus led directly to his active participation in the formation of the Western Pennsylvania Heart Association, for which organization he served as its first president and in the formation of the first Cardiac Work Evaluation Clinic in Western Pennsylvania, which served to evaluate patients with cardiac conditions for placement in work positions at local steel mills. In 1975, Ed accepted the position of medical director of the Pittsburgh headquarters of the Aluminum Company of America, serving in the position for approximately 20 years. During that time, he again worked to establish an outstanding preventative medical program, which had received both local and national awards, including the Gold Sword Award of the American Cancer Society for his cancer prevention and smoking cessation programs. During this portion of his career, Dr. Brethauer had served on the Board of Directors of The Chemical People, as well as on the Advisory Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs of the United Mental Health Foundation, for which service he was at one time awarded the coveted Dr. Abraham Twerski Award for outstanding devotion to the improvement of mental health. He also served as a member of numerous state and local medical societies, as a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American College of Physicians and The American College of Occupational and Environmental Physicians and served prominently as well on the Board of Directors of the Allegheny County Medical Society, the Visiting Nurse's Association, the American Cancer Society and the Golden Triangle Y.M.C.A. Dr. Brethauer had ended his illustrious career by serving as an assistant to the medical director of the Westinghouse Bettis facility in McKeesport, where he had conducted physical examinations and offered preventative medical career advice to the employees of that plant. As was the case wherever he had practiced previously, Dr. Brethauer became a beloved figure to all of his patients and continued to live up to his moniker as "The doctor's doctor," given to him at one point for the willingness of numerous other practicing physicians to accept and use him as their own personal health advisor. He will always be known for his tireless devotion to his patients and his willingness to make constant sacrifices of his own time to better their lives, but he would still prefer to be remembered primarily for his devotion to his own family, in particular, his loving wife of 68 years, Alberna, for whom he unfailingly cared and admired as both his lifelong mate and his business assistant. Funeral arrangements will be private with a memorial service to be scheduled later in the summer through the East Liberty Presbyterian Church. Arrangements by the GENE H. CORL INC. FUNERAL & CREMATION CENTER OF MONROEVILLE, 412-372-2100. Donations to Dr. Brethauer's favorite charities, namely the Alzheimer's Society, the Multiple Sclerosis Society or the Parkinson's Foundation, would be greatly appreciated, for those interested in paying tribute to his life.