Bert Tarboro Jr., of Bethlehem, a Blue Mountain League and Tri-County League baseball hall-of-famer, passed away August 17, 1999. He was the husband of the late Louise (Edmondson) Tarboro. He worked for Bethlehem Steel Corp. for 43 years before retiring as a foreman in 1979. Simultaneously, he was a counselor for troubled youth in Northampton County. Born in Wilson, N.C., he was a son of the late Bert Sr. and Patti (Mercer) Tarboro.

He was the former owner and manager of St. John’s Baseball Church League, which he started in 1961.

Also founder and manager of the Bethlehem Giants, he was inducted into the Blue Mountain League Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Tri-County League Hall of Fame in 1996. On his induction into the Blue Mountain League, BML committee member Bob Schustter said Tarboro was a “class act from the moment he entered the league.”

Tarboro was a deacon of St. Paul’s Baptist Church, Bethlehem, and the Central Baptist Association Layman’s League.

He was a past master of Wyoming Masonic Lodge 135, Bethlehem.

Family members: sons, John L. and Bert III, both of Bethlehem, and Ricardo Saunders of Easton; daughters, Mary Ellen Biggs, Vivian Hungerford and Elsie Luciano, all of Bethlehem; brothers, Robert L. of Philadelphia and Roy Lee of Freemansburg, 10 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.