Obituary: Bernard J. Powers / Allegheny County director, South Hills Catholic football coach
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Bernard Powers gave his children an early start on learning to sing traditional Irish songs.
"He had a good voice, and usually he'd sing at family affairs or at a wake. And, of course, St. Patrick's Day get-togethers," said his wife of 62 years, Virginia Vanderbosch Powers.
The Powers family was a large, active Irish-Dutch clan whose lives were immersed in the Catholic Church -- all 10 kids attended St. Bernard grade school in Mt. Lebanon.
And Mr. Powers, who was a church usher for 50 years, gave back in a big way not only to the parish, but the entire Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Mr. Powers, 84, died Thursday, three years after he was diagnosed with parkinsonism, a neurological disorder with symptoms similar to that of Parkinson's.
He is survived by his wife and family, but also multitudes of schoolchildren, athletes and those who were in need when he worked with them as director of federal programs in Allegheny County.
"He was a great dad and a great husband," Mrs. Powers said. "And everybody always seemed to know him. We'd be on a plane and someone would pop up to say, 'Hello, coach Powers.'
"Or we'd be in California, or in an airport," his wife added, laughing.
Mr. Powers and his wife met in the late 1940s, when she was dating a classmate of his at the University of Notre Dame.
They married in South Bend, Ind., lived briefly in Toronto and in Illinois, then moved to Pittsburgh. Mr. Powers had grown up in Dormont, attending St. Bernard and then Dormont High School.
He excelled at football, but back problems cut short his college career. That didn't stop him from becoming a teacher and coach. His South Hills Catholic teams were part of the heyday of Catholic League sports in the 1960s and early '70s.
"He was the one who lit my passion for the game," said Tom Donahoe, former director of football operations for the Steelers and a quarterback for Mr. Powers' South Hills Catholic team.
"He taught us a lot about faith and family. Coach Powers was a disciplinarian, very tough, very demanding."
Mr. Donahoe said he was also a sports visionary: "He was a coach in the mid-'60s who was way ahead of his time, in terms of what he did, utilizing formations and motion, play-calling and using gadget plays.
"I always felt it was an honor to play for that guy."
After beginning his teaching career at St. Bede Academy in Peru, Ill., Mr. Powers continued as an educator at De La Salle College in Canada, St. Paul Catholic Orphan Asylum in Pittsburgh, alma mater St. Bernard and South Hills Catholic (which is now Seton-LaSalle High School).
He also was an administrator for the Diocese of Pittsburgh in several capacities: assistant superintendent of schools, athletic director and coordinator of Head Start.
He later became director of federal programs for the county.
"He was great as an administrator, too -- seems like everything he did, he did well," Mrs. Powers said. "But, of course, he loved coaching and he loved teaching, and he did that for quite a while."
His children kept in touch, and Mrs. Powers said three of their sons who live in the Cleveland area liked to drop by in the fall to watch football on television.
Surviving children are Shaun, Tim, Michael, Virginia Gregg, Carren Gallick, William, Heather Taylor, Thomas and Shannon Powers. Mr. Powers also is survived by 25 grandchildren.
Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. today in St. Bernard Church, with interment in Mt. Lebanon Cemetery. Donations may be made to the St. Bernard Parish Angel Fund, 311 Washington Road, Pittsburgh 15216.
First Published January 30, 2012 12:00 am
