Robert H. Silver | Company owner, 72

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, May, 2007

Robert H. Silver, 72, of Meadowbrook, former owner of Penn Ventilator Co., died of chronic lymphocytic leukemia Saturday at Hospice by the Sea in Boca Raton, Fla., where he had a winter home.

Mr. Silver grew up in West Oak Lane and helped out at Penn Ventilator, the company his father and two uncles started in a North Philadelphia garage in 1928.

After graduating from Central High School, he earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Drexel University and joined the firm, which manufactured ventilators and fans. He became president and expanded the business to nine factories and more than 600 employees. He was chairman when it was sold in 1999.

Mr. Silver was past president of the board of...