Ex-Southwest Gas director Berol dies at 96

Edward M. "Mike" Berol, longtime director and a past chairman of the board for Southwest Gas, has died. He was 96.

Services for Berol, who died Saturday at his home in Vista, Calif., will be 10 a.m. Friday at Palm Springs Mortuary in Cathedral City, Calif.

Berol was director for the Nevada Natural Gas Pipe Line Co. and became director of Southwest Gas Corp. when the companies merged in 1962.

He served as chairman of the board for Southwest Gas from 1973-88. When he retired in 1989, Berol was given the honorary title of director emeritus.

Born March 23, 1902, in Poland, Berol received a law degree from the University of Washington and soon after set up a law practice in San Francisco, where he specialized in public utilities and transportation issues.

He worked steadily as a lawyer from 1932-65, when he retired from practicing law to concentrate on running the local gas company.

Berol was past president of the Marin County Chamber of Commerce in Palo Alto, Calif., and a member of the American Bar Association and Transportation Lawyers Association.

He is survived by his wife, Susan of Vista; a son, Marshall Berol of San Francisco; two daughters, Elizabeth Rinder of Portland, Ore., and Barbara Berol of Arcata, Calif.; a stepson, Dan Brown of Irvine, Calif.; a stepdaughter, Sally Hatfield of Denver; a sister, Ruth Shindell of Seattle, Wash.; 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

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