Trustee, alum Mercer Brugler dies at 94

M ercer Brugler, a Life Trustee of the University and chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1967-1970, died on Saturday, May 22. He was 94.

Brugler was a former president and chairman of Pfaudler Co., which was bought by Sybron Corp. in 1968. He stayed on as a board member until 1974 when he retired after almost 50 years with the company.

He also served as a board member for Xerox Corp., the YMCA of Greater Rochester, the former Lincoln First Bank, and the former McCurdy & Co. Inc., and was a past president of the Greater Rochester Metro Chamber of Commerce Inc.

Brugler graduated from the University in 1925 and from Harvard Business School the following year. While at Rochester, he played both football and basketball and was captain of the basketball team in his senior year.

Active in University and alumni affairs, Brugler also was a dedicated fund-raiser for the University. In 1979, Rochester established the Mercer Brugler Distinguished Teacher Professorship in his honor following a $600,000 gift from Sybron along with gifts from him and his wife, Bernice Whitham Brugler '25, who died last year.

Brugler is survived by his son, John, of Pittsford; three grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.