Copyright Reading Eagle
For information on submitting an obituary, please contact Reading Eagle by phone at 610-371-5018, or email at obituaries@readingeagle.com or fax at 610-371-5193. Most obituaries published in the Reading Eagle are submitted through funeral homes and cremation services, but we will accept submissions from families. Obituaries can be emailed to obituaries@readingeagle.com. In addition to the text of the obituary, any photographs that you wish to include can be attached to this email. Please put the text of the obituary in a Word document, a Google document or in the body of the email. The Reading Eagle also requires a way to verify the death, so please include either the phone number of the funeral home or cremation service that is in charge of the deceased's care or a photo of his/her death certificate. We also request that your full name, phone number and address are all included in this email. All payments by families must be made with a credit card. We will send a proof of the completed obituary before we require payment. The obituary cannot run, however, until we receive payment in full. Obituaries can be submitted for any future date, but they must be received no later than 3:00 p.m. the day prior to its running for it to be published. Please call the obituary desk, at 610-371-5018, for information on pricing. Three new members of the Conrad Weiser School District’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame are set to be inducted next month. The new members are Dr. Jonathan Trump, Brian Dreibelbis and Brian Clements. They will be inducted as part of a National Honor Society induction ceremony on Nov. 6. Dr. Jonathan Trump (Class of 2000) Trump is an associate professor of physics at the University of Connecticut. He is an observational astronomer who studies distant galaxies and the supermassive black holes that live within the centers of galaxies. He is particularly interested in the co-evolving growth of black holes and galaxies. Trump has been awarded several programs on the James Webb Space Telescope to understand the formation and growth of the first black holes and galaxies. Trump has been a coauthor of over 250 papers, has been awarded over $2 million in grants for his studies, presented over 50 talks and contributed to over 80 seminars. His awards include a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, a Hubble Fellowship, and a Steward Observatory Outstanding Research Award. At the University of Connecticut, Trump has been a thesis adviser for graduate and undergraduate students. He has received the Provost’s Recognition of Excellence in Teaching every semester from 2017 to 2025. He helped organize a campuswide eclipse event with over 2,000 attendees. Brian Dreibelbis (Class of 1981) Brian Dreibelbis is the senior director of supply chain human resources and labor and employee relations for Land O’Lakes. He is a human resources business adviser who develops a broad company labor and employee relations strategy and interacts with key labor leaders across the U.S. Before joining Land O’Lakes, he held supply chain, human resources and labor and employee relations positions of increasing responsibility with The Walt Disney Company, General Mills and Kraft Foods. Brian is a nationally recognized labor leader with organizations such as U.S. LERN, The U.S. Labor Negotiations Institute, and The National Food and Dairy Board. Since 2013, he has held positions on numerous U.S. House and Senate subcommittees to address the multiemployer pension crisis for U.S. workers. He currently works closely with the U.S. Department of Labor on key labor issues facing the U.S. Brian has served on many committees at Penn State Berks since 2016, and most recently was appointed to the Chancellor’s Advisory Board in 2021. In 2018, he became actively involved at the Smeal College of Business Mentoring Program as a student mentor and contributing committee member on the advisory board. In March 2023, Brian was appointed to the Tarriff Center’s board of directors to provide oversight and leadership for the honor and integrity initiative at The Smeal College of Business and across the broader Penn State University. Brian Clements (Class of 1972) Brian Clements began his career in the waste management industry immediately after high school by joining his father’s trash business, Clements Brothers Inc., starting as a bulldozer operator and truck driver. Clements held various positions in the company including salesman, operations manager, vice president and, in 1981, was ultimately named company president. In 1984, Clements expanded the business into interstate hazardous waste transportation and disposal and changed the company name to Clements Waste Services Inc. He fully acquired the company from his father in 1985. In addition to the hauling company, Clements started several waste management related businesses to capture other marketplace opportunities. These included a waste equipment sales company, a waste equipment leasing company and a regional facility to process recyclables. In 1999, Clements Waste Services and all the related companies were sold to Waste Management Inc. Later in 1999, Clements started Clements Associates Inc., a real estate investment and leasing company, which he still owns. In 2003, Clements was appointed to the board of directors of Bank of Lancaster County, serving until 2008 when the bank was sold to PNC Bank. Clements has served on the boards of directors of over two dozen nonprofit and trade organizations. Some highlights include serving several years as chairman of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Solid Waste Management Association, where he frequently testified in the Pennsylvania Legislature on solid waste and recycling issues. He also served as chairman of the Western Berks Fire Task Force, which merged four separate fire companies to create the new Western Berks Fire Department. Clements also served on the board of trustees at Alvernia University, Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center, and Kutztown University, and has served as a director on the Berks County Solid Waste Authority for over 25 years. Clements received several recognitions during his career, including being named the Berks County Chamber of Commerce’s 1984 “Entrepreneur of the Year,” receiving the National Solid Waste Management Association’s 1991 “National Distinguished Service Award” and receiving the Hawk Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America 2015 “Spirit of Scouting Award.”
