Firm's founder was a man of strong values
When it came to success, no task was too small for Karl Adler.
From humble beginnings, he eventually won the hand of the woman he loved, served his country in World War II, founded his own steel company and assumed important roles in Pittsburgh's Jewish community.
Karl Adler, of Fox Chapel, Allegheny County, founder and president of the former Stanton Steel Co., Harmarville, died Friday, April 16, 2004, at his residence. He was 83.
Mr. Adler, a former Navy officer, served as president of the College of Jewish Studies, was a founding member of the Jewish Chronicle, a member of the Council of Christian and Jews and a general chairman of the State of Israel Bonds Drive.
As a past president of the former B'Nai Israel Synagogue in the city's East Liberty neighborhood, he was involved in the 1993 merger of B'Nai Israel with Beth Jacob Congregation, of New Kensington, to form the new Adat Shalom Congregation in Cheswick.
"My Dad had very little money as he was growing up in Oakland," said his daughter, Hope Kendler. "Dad was one of four children. My grandfather Leo was a tailor, and my grandmother Minnie, who emigrated from Austria, raised the children."
Mr. Adler attended Taylor Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill and then Duquesne University on a full scholarship. He eked out a living working as a night watchman, delivering Western Union telegrams and phone books, and pumping gas.
In 1942, after graduating from Duquesne magna cum laude, Mr. Adler was commissioned an officer in the Navy and sent to Harvard University to implement the Navy's systems analysis accounting system.
On June 28, 1944, Lt. Adler participated in what he often described as the most important event of his life. While on leave, he married Ruth Weinberger, a young woman from Shadyside he pursued prior to entering the Navy.
"My parents were almost inseparable," Kendler said. "Even when he'd take extended business trips to Europe or personal trips to Israel, he'd take my mother with him."
In 1999, while celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary, Mr. Adler remarked that he "married into a family of jewels and he got the crown," Kendler recalled.
The Adlers settled in Squirrel Hill, and Mr. Adler joined Dumas Steel in Carnegie as a vice president, before establishing his own steel company in 1952.
In keeping with the teachings of the Book of Leviticus, Mr. Adler believed that an employee who does a good job should be paid accordingly, his daughter said.
"Dad instituted profit-sharing," Kendler said. "When he left for a business trip, he'd pay his employees weeks in advance. One of Dad's employees who was hurt on the job couldn't work for six months. His family never missed a pay."
"My father was immovable when it came to principles of integrity on moral issues," Kendler said. "Dad could also be a square. When my sister and I were dating, the skirts couldn't be too short or the blouses too low. The only way we could get away with it was to wear a coat and run out the door."
Mr. Adler is survived by his wife, Ruth Adler; daughters, Hope Kendler, of New York City, and Mara Capi, of Haifa, Israel; son, Lee Adler, of Ithaca, N.Y.; grandchildren, Shunee, Tal, Omar, Bo and Micah; and brother, Jack Adler, of Santa Barbara, Calif. He was predeceased by a sister, Sophie, and a brother, Lou.
Services will be at 11 a.m. today at the Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., 5509 Centre Ave., Shadyside. Visitation will be one hour before the service. Burial will be in B'Nai Israel Cemetery, Penn Hills.
