Obituary of Harold G. Burgmayer

Harold George Burgmayer died peacefully on Thursday, November 9, 2017 in Vineland, NJ, surrounded by family. He was 92 years old. Preceded in death by his sister Ruth, Harold is survived by his sister, Gloria Kovelman, a nephew, Robert Kovelman, his former wife Naomi, three sons, Harold, Paul and David, eight adult grandchildren, Sarah, Katie, Carissa, Erin, David, Jonathan, Alan and Andrew and great-grandchildren Aaron, Ethan, Ruby, Marjorie, Simon, and Henry. Harold was born in Brooklyn, NY on July 21, 1925 to Maximilian and Louise (nee Scholz) Burgmayer. Drafted into the US Army in 1944, he served with the Corps of Engineers in the Philippines and in occupied Japan. After his honorable discharge, he worked 10 years for the Pullman Company and the Pennsylvania Railroad. As a young man, he began attending Salvation Army worship services where he met his future wife, Naomi (nee' Kuhl), an officer (pastor) there. In 1953, they married and in 1956 he also trained to become a Salvation Army officer. Together they served in Hackensack, NJ; Dover, NJ; Kingston, NY; and Providence, RI. After leaving The Salvation Army in 1964, the family settled in Levittown, PA where he worked at the General Motors Assembly Plant in West Trenton for the next 15 years. In 1979 he realized a lifelong dream of opening his own real estate business first at his home and then on Route 1 at Oxford Valley Road in Fairless Hills, PA near what is now Sesame Place. After his divorce from Naomi, he moved to Atlantic City where he lived for 15 years. In the fall of 2016, he was accepted into the Veteran's Administration Memorial Home in Vineland, NJ where he lived until his death. The greatest gift he bequeathed to his children and grandchildren was his love and passion for music. Early in life, his parents and teachers instilled in him a deep love and appreciation for opera and classical music. As a teen in Brooklyn, he heard a neighbor, Freddy Brightenbach, practicing cornet and convinced Freddy to give him lessons. He then taught each of his three boys to play cornet and trumpet, paying for lessons, and encouraging them to stay involved with brass band music in the Salvation Army as teens and young adults. All three boys are still very actively involved with music; all raised their children to play at least one musical instrument. A memorial service will be held Sunday afternoon, December 17, 2017 at 3:30 p.m. at The Salvation Army - Levittown Corps at 215 Appletree Drive, Levittown, PA 19055. A military memorial service and internment will be held at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Memorial Cemetery, 350 Province Line Rd, Wrightstown, NJ 08562 (proposed for Flag Day, Thursday, June 14, 2018). In lieu of flowers, the Family requests that you send donations made out to: The Salvation Army - "Operation Music Lessons," c/o The Salvation Army – Music Department, 701 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123. Arrangements are by DeMarco-Luisi Funeral Home 2755 S. Lincoln Ave., Vineland. Memories, thoughts and prayers may be extended to the family by visiting dlfuneral.com.