George Ernest Scharpf, 78, passed peacefully on Jan. 4, 2019, surrounded by his loving family.
Born in St. Vincent Hospital in New York City in 1940, Scharpf was one of four children of Ernest and Theresa Scharpf. He was raised in Queens, New York, loved music and math and at one point was a Brooklyn ballroom dance champion. He attended LaSalle Academy, which he would later return to as a member of the Board of Trustees.
Scharpf graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1962 and received his MBA in 1969 from New York University.
He started his career at Price Waterhouse & Company as a public accountant followed by serving in the United States Army as a 1st lieutenant. While stationed in Germany in 1965, he met his wife, Patricia Murtagh. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves in 1990.
Scharpf began his Amboy career in 1969, becoming a director of Amboy Bank in 1979 and president and chief executive officer in 1981. In 1995 he was elected chairman of the board. Over the 50-year span he led the growth of the bank from $39 million to $2.3 billion in assets.
Outside of Amboy, Scharpf served on numerous boards including the University of Notre Dame’s Advisory Council for the Mendoza College of Business since 2004. He held leadership positions in the banking industry including director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, N.J. Banking Association, and American Banking Association.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia Murtagh Scharpf; sister Margarite DiSepio (Joe); three children, Gregory (Ashley), Eric (Colleen) and Elizabeth (Sarita); four grandchildren; and hundreds of people he helped through a lifetime of service as a community banker.
A private memorial is planned in the future. For condolences, visit tributes.com/georgescharpf.
In lieu of flowers, donations to La Salle Academy can be made at lasalleacademy.org or by mailing to La Salle Academy, 215 E. 6th St., New York, NY 10003.