Charles Martin Berger ’58

Chuck entered Princeton from Scranton (Pa.) Central High School. He majored in the Woodrow Wilson School, was a member of Key and Seal, and managed the Express-Reunion Agency.

He received an MBA from Harvard and began his business career with Procter & Gamble. He then joined H.J. Heinz, where he remained for 32 years. In the marketing world he is remembered as the originator of the 1964 TV commercial, “Heinz, the ketchup that lost because it’s too thick and rich to run.” Chuck later led Heinz Italy, Weight Watchers, and Heinz India. From 1996 to 2001 he was chairman and CEO of Scotts Miracle-Gro Co.

Intellectual and outspoken, Chuck didn’t suffer fools. “Facts are better than opinions,” he wrote after he arrived at Scotts. “That doesn’t mean I don’t value opinions. But their value goes way up when they are backed up by facts — especially quantifiable facts.”

He was active in many organizations, including the Naples (Fla.) Botanical Gardens, where he led a capital campaign that raised $32 million for expanding the gardens.

The class sends deepest sympathy to Chuck’s wife of 48 years, Jane Purdy Berger; his brother, Sheldon; his sisters, Judy Tawil and Marcia Harris; his children, Cary, Eliza- beth, and Valerie; and three grandchildren.