Obituaries

Charles F. Poleri

Charles “Charlie” Poleri of Chestnut Hill, who was born on Ardleigh Street on March 4, 1918 to Sicilian immigrants Thomas and Carmela Poleri, died on April 22.

At age 24, while working as a sewing machine operator, he enlisted in the Army, serving in Europe in 1942 and then going to Africa, where he was captured by one of Rommel’s Panzer Divisions. Upon internment in Sicily, Italian American prisoners were sent to Rome for further interrogation. They were then sent by train to an unknown destination in the north of Italy, where Allied planes bombed the German train. Charlie and many other Allied prisoners escaped into the hills.

His speaking Sicilian saved his and two of his fellow escapees as they met Italian freedom fighters who moved them from farmhouse to farmhouse until joining the resistance, fighting the Germans until the war’s end. Charlie fought in the Algerian Moroccan campaign and the Tunisian campaign.

After the war and his marriage to Anna Noack, he worked as a painter in Chestnut Hill before going to work as a building engineer at PennWalt for 35 years.

His major interests were family and community, travel, collecting antiques, coin collecting, German memorabilia and gardening. He was active in V.F.W. and his POW chapter.

He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Anna; his brother and sisters John Poleri, Connie Upright and Mary Campbell; and many nieces, nephews, other family and friends. He was predeceased by his brother, David, and sister, Jean.

A Funeral Mass was celebrated on April 27 at Our Mother of Consolation Church, with interment at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to V.F.W. Post #5205, PO Box 4093, Philadelphia, PA 19118.

Edward S. Kane

Edward S. Kane, of Chestnut Hill, died on April 21.

He was the husband of Eleanor (nee Mucha), father of Gary (Joanne), grandfather of Kristin, Gary Jr., Kelly Kane Shacklett, Victoria, Joanna, Jack, Kyle and Karly; great-grandfather of Dean III. He was the brother of Frances Friday and the late Joseph, Anthony and John Konieczny, Raymond and Stanley Kane, and Veronica, Emily and Julia. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.

A Funeral Mass was held at Our Mother of Consolation Church on April 25 and interment took place at Westminster Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Chestnut Hill Hospital ICU, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19118.

Catherine T. Shields

Catherine T. Shields (nee Murray), of Chestnut Hill, died on April 22.

She was the wife of the late Donald J. Shields Sr.; mother of Donald J. Shields Jr. and Margaret A. Stearns (Howard); sister of Mary A. Murray; and is also survived by two grandchildren, Debra and Robert D. Stearns.

A Funeral Mass was celebrated on April 26 at Our Mother of Consolation Church, with interment at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Our Mother of Consolation Church, 9 East Chestnut Hill Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19118.

Thomas E. Nott IV

Thomas Edwin (Ed) Nott IV, formerly of Chestnut Hill, died on April 6.

Born in Charlotte, N.C. on November 24, 1929, he was the oldest son of Sue Harris and Thomas Edwin Nott III. 

Mr. Nott graduated from Clemson University in 1950 with a degree in mechanical engineering, where he was also a member of the Core of Cadets. He later served on the Clemson University Foundation Board.

During the Korean War, Mr. Nott was a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force’s 51st Fighter Interceptor Group, 16th Squadron, where he flew 100 combat missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, along with several other medals and citations.   

After the war, while flying with the Pennsylvania National Guard, he earned his M.B.A from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. He retired from the service with the rank of Captain.

Upon graduating from Wharton, Mr. Nott joined Reynolds Metals and started his family in Philadelphia. He later joined Goldman Sachs & Co., where he became co-manager and vice president of the firm’s Philadelphia office. In 1978, he transferred to Miami to open the Goldman Sachs & Co. Miami branch office, where he later retired.

While in Philadelphia, Mr. Nott served on the board of the Red Cross.

Mr. Nott is survived by his wife, Anne Phillips Nott; their two children Thomas Edwin Nott V (Cynthia Ann Moore) and Elizabeth Colahan Nott Hall (Roger Barclay Hall); and his three grandchildren, Emily Marie Nott, Roger Griffin Hall and Caroline Phillips Hall. He is also survived by a brother, Robert Harris Nott, and an aunt, Mary Harris Hood.