Posner, Buchanan, Mullaney, Berliner, Archie, Kane, Friday

Henry Posner Jr., 92

Posner was a very successful businessman and generous philanthropist. Valedictorian at Shady Side Academy and honors graduate of Princeton, he was a research scientist during World War II. He taught chemistry at Pitt before joining Pittsburgh Outdoor Advertising, a billboard business he took over from his father. Posner became a brilliant entrepreneur, with more than 26 companies to his credit. His philanthropy included a $12 million gift to UPMC Shadyside, and support for Rodef Shalom Congregation, Homewood-Brushton YMCA, Shady Side Academy and Carnegie Mellon University. He also financed the creation of welfare centers for Jews in the former Soviet Union.

Dr. Bayley Buchanan, 87

A fourth-generation Pittsburgh surgeon, Dr. Buchanan followed his father and grandfather—both surgeons at Mercy Hospital—and his great-grandfather, a Civil War surgeon who practiced in Pittsburgh. Dr. Buchanan was the former chief of medical staff at Mercy and later chaired Mercy’s cancer committee, treating thousands of women with breast cancer. He was also on the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission board and authored Pittsburgh biographies for the Pittsburgh Historical Society.

Anne Mullaney, 54

Mullaney was an attorney and the beloved owner of the Strip District’s Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle, one of Pittsburgh’s foremost gathering places for Irish music, celebrations and camaraderie. A partner at Thorp Reed & Armstrong, she was general counsel for hospitals in four states, and past president of Neighbors in the Strip and Pittsburgh Habitat for Humanity.

Ellen Berliner, 90

The co-founder of the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, she led a variety of community groups. It began in her Mt. Lebanon home, where the door was never locked to people needing refuge. She helped created the South Hills Association for Racial Equality, and she and a friend opened the Women’s Center and Shelter, which became a safe haven for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault—among the first in the U.S. After her husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Berliner helped found the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Rita Wilson Kane, 95

Her life in politics began as a girl in 1928 when she campaigned door to door with her father for Democratic presidential candidate Al Smith. When someone spat in her face, she knew politics was for her. The 32-year Allegheny County Register of Wills was a political trailblazer and behind-the-scenes power, from Allegheny County to Washington, D.C. during the heyday of Pittsburgh’s Democratic Party power. Those who had political ambitions in Allegheny County had to come see “Mrs. Democrat,” and she was a strong advocate for women, helping many follow her lead into politics.

James Archie, 87

Archie believed God had put him on the earth to help people, and he was happiest when doing just that. In World War II as part of an Army construction unit in Europe, he tutored friends in the segregated unit. A 40-year employee of the Postal Service in Pittsburgh, he was largely a self-taught man, learning German, French and Greek on his own. He taught adults to read, including prisoners; he was a volunteer insurance counselor for older adults and he mentored at the Christian Life Skills center in the East End.

Dr. Rupert Friday, 98

A surgeon, obstetrician and gynecologist at Magee-Womens and Mercy hospitals, Dr. Friday also was an active outdoorsman until the end of his life. He bred and raised English Pointers and was an avid skeet shooter, grouse hunter, golfer and fly-fisherman. A soft-spoken, good-natured man, he worked until the age of 75, with the motto, “Do something productive every day.”