Warren R. Auchenbach

Warren R. "Auchy" Auchenbach, 93, Muhlenberg Township, passed away peacefully on November 5, 2013 in his home in South Temple.

He was the husband of A. Evelyn Auchenbach who predeceased him on February 19, 2008.

Born in Reading on May 18, 1920, he was the son of the late Earl and Elsie (Weber) Auchenbach.

Auchy was employed by Carpenter Technology for 42 years before retiring in 1983.

He was a 1938 graduate of Muhlenberg Township High School where he was a four letter athlete in soccer, basketball, baseball and track &field, having won 52 of 56 track and field events in which he entered. He won three gold medals in the District 3 class B championships, winning the 100 yard dash, long jump and javelin and also won Muhlenberg's first state title by winning the long jump at Penn State. At the State meet he also won the silver medal in the javelin and bronze in the 100 yard dash. As a senior, Auchy pitched all 12 games for the Muhls for a 10-2 record averaging 10 strikeouts per game.

Auchy went on to play professional baseball in the St. Louis Cardinal organization. As the fastest man on the team, Auchy participated in a promotional event by racing Jesse Owens on three occasions. Auchy won two of the three races, one of which was around the base path.

His baseball career ended when he was drafted into the Army in 1943 and a land mine exploded impairing his hearing for life and leaving scaring across one eye. His division was one of the first infantry divisions to cross the Rhine River over the famous Ludendorff Bridge in Remagen, Germany on March 8, 1945 and he was with the 78th Lighting Division during 125 consecutive days of combat in the Battle of the Bulge during which it experienced a casualty turnover rate of 87%. Auchy was awarded two Bronze Stars for meritorious achievement in ground combat against the armed enemy during WWII in the European-African Middle Eastern Theater of Operations.

A member of the Berks Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Auchy also was a PIAA track starter for over 48 years.

Auchy's sports and war heroics pale in comparison to his skills as a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Those who knew him remember well his unceasing love and unselfish care for his wife, Evelyn, who suffered severely from Multiple Sclerosis. With him, family always came first. He will be sorely missed.

He is survived by his daughter, Evie Braun, widow of Tim Braun, and his son, Bob Auchenbach, husband of Kip (Geissler) Auchenbach.

There are also four grandchildren: Erika (Braun) Sager, Timothy A. Braun, Melissa (Auchenbach) Jernigan and Jennifer Auchenbach, and great-grandchildren: Meghan, Emilie, Vivien, Nick, Rose, Makenna, Tyler and Landon. Auchy is also survived by his brother-in-law, Austin Blimline, and his sister-in-law, Shirley Auchenbach. There are also many loving nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his brother, Earl Auchenbach, Jr., his sister, Dorothy J. Blimline, infant brother Donald, and his son-in-law, Tim Braun.

The family wishes to acknowledge Ruth Pitter, who has the compassion of an angel, and was his full time caregiver and friend during the last year of Auchy's life.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, November 8, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. in Holy Guardian Angles Roman Catholic Church, 3121 Kutztown Road, Hyde Park. Entombment will be in the Chapel of St. George at Gethsemane Cemetery. Friends may call on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. in Edward J. Kuhn Funeral Home, Inc., 739 Penn Ave., West Reading, PA 19611. Online condolences may be recorded at www.kuhnfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to the Tim Braun Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o Berks County Community Foundation: Attention Frances A. Aiken, PO Box 212, Reading, PA 19603-0212.