Gerald "Jerry" E. Lorenz

Gerald (Jerry) Lorenz – of Spring Hill, Northside,  passed away October 8, 2022, at the age of 75 with his family by his side.  Jerry was the son of the late Edward and Theresa Kappel Lorenz and is survived by his beloved wife and best friend Deborah Knight Lorenz.  He is also survived by his three sisters, Karen Price, Theresa Lorenz, and Mariann Jacobson and several nieces and nephews, 3 of which are his godchildren.  He was stepfather to Luke Frawley and Billie Rebholz (Richard) and had 3 grandchildren: R.J. and Mason Rebholz and Dezi Frawley.  He was lifelong friends with Francis (Butch) Pattonrick.  He loved his family very much and he loved, enjoyed, and missed his buddy,  “Mickey”, his white English bulldog, who passed before him.   Jerry was  an avid, absolute die hard, Pittsburgh Pirates fan.  In addition, for over 30 years he was a Steelers Season Ticket holder.  He was proud to have graduated in 1965 from North Catholic High school where he enjoyed playing basketball and serving as the school treasurer.   After high school, while working, he attended night school working towards an engineering degree.  He began his career in the drafting field eventually beginning a career at Carnegie Mellon University as an HVAC designer.  He stayed at Carnegie Mellon for over 20 years, ending his career there as a Project Manager in charge of multimillion-dollar HVAC construction projects.  During his career he enjoyed playing competitive racquet ball with friends at the City Club and then later at CMU.   In the 70’s while taking a 6-week car trip around the United States, he decided that as a souvenir, he would collect the different colorful beer cans that he drank along the way and thus, began his love for beer can and breweriana collecting.  He joined a local chapter of the Breweriana Collectors of America (BCCA) called the Olde Frothingslosh Chapter, eventually joining the BCCA and the rest is breweriana history!  He was proud also to be a member of NABA.   He slowly grew a great collection and so enjoyed the hobby.  He attended 48 consecutive BCCA Canventions throughout the country and traveled to all 50 states, his 50th being Hawaii.   He served on the Board of Directors of the BCCA and  would end up presiding over Olde Frothingslosh as President for 25 years.  In 1986, while working at CMU, he opened and operated Frank & Jerry’s Bierhaus Tavern on the Northside so that he could display his growing collection.  Eventually, he would open a three room breweriana museum above the bar that would be seen by many collectors from all around the country.   The bar became like “Cheers” where everyone knew your name and was in business for 20 years before he sold it in 2006.   While he still could, he enjoyed golfing and did so in several states around the country, including Alaska, and also in St. Thomas.  In 1997 he purchased land, brought in a trailer, built additions, and created his beloved camp in Brandon Acres, Kennerdell, next door to Fran Pattonrick, where he fished, drank beer, and enjoyed life with his “camp family”, the Andrews, for over 20 years.  In 2003 he hosted the BCCA CANvention that was held at the Double Tree hotel in downtown Pittsburgh and at the Convention Center and was interviewed by various TV, newspaper, magazine, and radio channels.  He was very proud to be a lifetime member of the Teutonia Mannechor for 52 years.  Jerry loved his Iron City beer and was so proud of his retirement job as a tour director at the Oberhaus at Pittsburgh Brewing.  He made many friends over the years, from all walks of life, and, in his later years, enjoyed hanging out with his friends at the Spring Garden Sportsman’s Club.  He also enjoyed being a member of both the VFW and St. Mary’s Lyceum  and hanging out with his friends at “Hals”.  He lived a life well lived. 

Everyone is invited to a Visitation Wednesday from 2-8pm at Stephen M. Brady Funeral Home Inc.

 920 Cedar Avenue  Pgh. PA. 15212. Funeral Mass will be held Thursday 10am

 at St. Boniface Church 2208 East Street Pitts. PA. 15212