Albert Louis Bierman Jr., a retired trucking company executive and Ford Thunderbird collector, died of heart failure June 26 at his Essex home. He was 86.
Mr. Bierman was born and raised at Stemmers Run and graduated from Kenwood High School.
During World War II, he served as a forward observer with a field artillery company in the European Theater. He was awarded the Bronze Star for actions that resulted in the capture of 90 German prisoners.
After the war, Mr. Bierman established the Bierman Trucking Co. with a single truck. In 1989, he retired from the business, which remains in family hands.
Mr. Bierman was an avid collector of Thunderbirds, the classic car that Ford began manufacturing in 1955.
"A black 1965 T-bird was his baby," said his wife of 25 years, the former Eleanor J. Robbins.
He enjoyed driving his cars in area parades, his wife said.
He lived in the Essex home he built in 1949.
He was married for 32 years to the former Anna Gerst, who died in 1975.
Mr. Bierman was a member of Rosedale Baptist Church, where services were held Saturday.
Also surviving are two sons, Albert J. Bierman of Essex and Robert W. Bierman of Perry Hall; a daughter, Marjorie Lindner of Ellicott City; five stepdaughters, Jane True of Warfordsburg, Pa., Barbara DiPaola of Charlotte, N.C., Pattie Goffus of Darlington, Roberta Mooney of Ocala, Fla., and Debbie Nickles of Essex; a sister, Dorothy York of Essex; 14 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.