Edward Asplundh, a local businessman and healthcare reformer, died on December 31 at Abington Memorial Hospital aged 88, writes Bethany Ao for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Asplundh was born in Philadelphia. He graduated from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania and then entered the United States Air Force.

In 1958, he returned to the Philadelphia region where he started working for Willow Grove-based Asplundh Tree Expert, a family-owned business founded by his father and uncles.

In 1982 he became the company’s president, a position he held for the next ten years.

He often lent his business and utility expertise to health-care organizations in the area, such as Abington Memorial Hospital.

“He grew up during the polio epidemic and was very fascinated by germ theory,” said Jacqueline Asplundh, his daughter. “He’s always had a scientific mind, and both his parents were involved at Abington.”

He served on the hospital’s board for nearly two decades and once raised $20 million for Dixon School of Nursing scholarships.

He also supported Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia while he serving as chair of Asplundh Foundation Board.

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