Penn State has lost a dear member of its “phamily” today. Ernie Oelbermann, longtime Phyrst owner and Ernie’s namesake, died this morning in Venice, Florida. He was 90 years old.

Before his career in bar management, Oelbermann worked as an engineer. He worked for Penn State Engineering before moving to the engineering firm H.R.B. Singer, where he stayed for 17 years.

But owning the Phyrst was Oelbermann’s dream job. He bought half of the bar in 1968. Oelbermann then became the sole owner of the Phyrst in 1975, after his business partner passed away. Oelbermann made the Phyrst his second home, quite literally. He even took to the Phyrst stage back in the 90s, playing banjo and singing every Saturday night, with the Phyrst Phamily Band.

Oelbermann was married to his wife, Becky, for 65 years. Funeral plans have not been announced yet, but this post will be updated when they arrive.

Our condolences to the entire Oelbermann family.