Harry W. Nordstrom

Harry Walter Nordstrom of Bethel Park, age 91. Proceeded in death by his wife Margaret Rose (Dixon) Nordstrom, his son Kurt Nordstrom, sister Ann Nordstrom, and brother Richard Nordstrom.
Survived by his son Karl Nordstrom (Patricia) of State College, And his daughter Karen Nordstrom Roberts (Richard), and twin granddaughters Delaney and Deirdre and many nieces and nephews, close neighbors, and friends. He served the Greater Pittsburgh Dahlia Society for many years as President, Show Chair, and Chair of the Judges. Over his sixty years of dahlia growing, his award-winning blooms often graced the Court of Honor as well as being awarded Best of Show at regional competitions. The highlight of his career as a dahlia enthusiast was being the Chair of the Midwest Dahlia Show where growers from many states gathered to show nearly a thousand flowers. His 8” wide yellow formal decorative variety, Edna C, won best in show. The largest bloom he ever entered into competition was over 15” wide which is the style nicknamed “dinner plate” size. Over the years, he traveled throughout the Midwest to judge regional dahlia shows. At home in his own backyard garden of up to over 350 dahlias, he hybridized several unique dahlias that were accepted as new varieties in the American Dahlia Society catalog. His children remember motorcoach busses traveling to the cul-de-sac street he lived on to tour his dahlia gardens. 

Outside his life in the dahlia garden, Mr. Nordstrom’s professional career spanned more than 30 years working for Bell Telephone, At&T, and managing his own PBX service company. He worked on some of the largest telephone systems in downtown Pittsburgh including those in the USS Building, Koppers, Alcoa, Dollar Bank, and the William Penn Hotel. Mr. Nordstrom was born in Baltimore, MD and lived his early childhood in Erie until he moved to Penn Hills when it was still a rural area. He and his brother, Richard, raised chickens to sell eggs, in order to attend the Tam O’Shanter Drawing Classes at the Carnegie Museum on Saturdays. After graduating from Penn Hills High School in 1950, he attended the Advertising Art Studio School. He freelanced as a professional photographer for weddings and special events. Photography remained a passion of his throughout his lifetime. He was an Army corporal stationed in Austria during the Korean war specializing in communications. His parents were Erik Nordstrom of Sweden and Mary Theresa Fredrychowski of Erie, PA.

Visitation Friday 6-8 p.m. and Saturday 10-11 a.m. at the David J. Henney Funeral Home, 6364 Library Road, Library, PA, where a prayer will be Saturday at 11:00 a.m. www.davidhenneyfuneralhome.com 

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