Samuel ("Sandy") Louis Berliner

Samuel Louis Berliner, “Sandy”, 86, was born on December 18, 1937 and passed away February 26, 2024 at his home in La Quinta, California, surrounded by family, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. Sandy is survived by his wife of 64 years, Barbara, his three children, Randy (Bambi), Sheri, Brad, granddaughters Rachel and Emily, his brother Robert (Arlene), numerous cousins, nieces and nephews, and many grand-pets. He was the son of the late Reuben and Juliette Berliner of New York, NY and son-in-law to the late Julius and Anne Wittenberg of Lansdale, PA. 

Sandy was born in the Bronx, NY, where he attended The Bronx High School of Science. He moved to Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania where he met the love of his life, Barbara (née Wittenberg). After graduating from Penn, Sandy and Barbara married in 1959 and moved to Queens, NY. After Randy was born, they moved to Edison, NJ where they had two more children, Sheri and Brad. Sandy began his business career as an advertising salesperson in New York. 

He was eventually offered a promotion and moved his family to the Chicago area where he became the publisher of several trade magazines in the furniture, kitchen and bath industries. In 1982, Sandy published his primary magazine, Furniture Design & Manufacturing (FDM), in Spanish for distribution in Mexico, Central and South America, which earned him the praise of the late Senator Charles H. Percy of Illinois. In 1998, Sandy and a couple of colleagues formed a company to purchase a group of magazines for which he served as publisher. In his role in the Chicago business community, Sandy had the honor of giving a tour of Chicago to the future 41st President of the United States, George H.W. Bush. 

During his 40-plus year career in the magazine industry, Sandy traveled throughout the world for work, often with Barbara and his children, combining business with his passion for travel and good food. Sandy was always respectful and tried to speak the language of the countries he visited, often receiving a perfectly worded English language response of “what language do you speak, sir?” Although Sandy was proficient with maps, he was more of an explorer at heart. Sandy loved to travel with his family. In his younger days, this meant family cross-country driving trips with the types of misadventures you would expect from a 2,000-mile drive with young children. Later, there were family trips to Europe and the Caribbean, European river cruises with Barbara, and summer trips to the Atlantic Coast to enjoy time with his granddaughters.

Sandy was also an accomplished pianist. He and Barbara made a mean duet at the piano as she also acted and sang in theater at Penn, him playing the piano and her singing along. Sandy was known to all as an avid sports fan. He was an excellent tennis player and golfer, and coached youth baseball and basketball as well. He was also a huge fan of the Philadelphia Phillies and the Penn Quakers and Indiana Hoosiers basketball teams. Sandy and Barbara eventually retired to La Quinta, California where they have lived for more than 20 years. In La Quinta, Sandy loved visits from his family, spending time with the wonderful friends he made in the Citrus Club community, whether it was on the golf course, at the poker table, playing bocce, playing the piano at the clubhouse, or with Barbara and their friends at dinners, the symphony, theater, participating in book and movie discussions, or simply sipping a vodka martini or a glass of chardonnay. He also loved exploring the Coachella Valley, taking in the views of the snow-capped mountains and palm trees, and wandering around art fairs and the galleries on El Paseo in Palm Desert. 

Sandy's warmth, wit and charisma will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him. He always knew how to throw a party. A casual celebration of his joy-filled life will be held at the Citrus Club clubhouse in La Quinta, California, on March 5, 2024, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cancer Research Institute or to your preferred charity.