Dr. Bernard Frank Spielvogel

Dr. Bernard Frank Spielvogel, 74, of Mount Airy, died Tuesday, May 10, 2011, at Golden Living Center, surrounded by his loving family. He was born April 23, 1937, in Ellwood City, PA, the son of Rudolph David and Johanna Frank Spielvogel. He was a 1955 graduate of Lincoln High School and obtained a B.S. degree in chemistry and physics from Geneva College in 1959. In 1963, he received his Ph.D. degree in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Michigan. Dr. Spielvogel had over 40 years experience in synthetic boron chemistry and was employed in a variety of academic, government, and business positions. His academic appointments included The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, North Carolina State University, Northern Illinois University, and Mt. Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada. He served as a research grant administrator at the Army Research Office for 20 years. He founded or co-founded five high tech companies based upon boron technology. His research led to over 135 publications and 50 patents. He was the principal inventor on patents in the field of boron analogs of amino acids, peptides, and nucleic acids. These compounds and related boron compounds have been found to have a broad spectrum of biological and pharmacological activity. Bernard was preceded in death by his parents as well as two brothers, David Spielvogel and Rudy Spielvogel. He is survived by his wife, Carol Irene Gardner Spielvogel; three children, Karl Robert Spielvogel of Charlotte, Jan Winthrop Spielvogel of Seville, Spain, and Jeffrey Andrew Spielvogel and his wife, Granada Martinez Barragan of Seville, Spain; three grandchildren, Ean Karl Spielvogel of Chapel Hill, Angel Martinez Spielvogel of Seville, Spain, and Nicolas Spielvogel Martinez of Seville, Spain; a sister, Joann Cole of Ellwood City, PA; and a brother, Dr. Jackson Spielvogel of State College, PA. Bernard was a loving, caring, and generous father, grandfather, and brother and will be sorely missed. A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 21, 2011, in Mount Airy, NC, and his life will be celebrated during the Spielvogel Family Reunion in Maryland on August 5 and 6. Moody Funeral Services in Mount Airy is serving the family.