Hatboro History Buff & Longtime Shoe Repairman Passes Away

HATBORO, PA — A local historical group has announced the death of one of its founding members.

The Millbrook Society, a historical preservation group in Hatboro, announced this past weekend that co-founder Ronald N. Beifuss had passed away on Saturday Aug. 14 at age 85.

The group announced his passing on their Facebook page.

Beifuss was a longtime Hatboro resident who worked as a shoe repairman at the family's shoe business on Byberry Road, which had been started by his father in the late 1920s, according to The Millbrook Society.

Beifuss took over the business when his father retired in 2000.

“Trained at his father’s side to learn his craft he could make a pair of shoes from scratch, as well as repair his customer’s shoes, orthopedic braces and other leatherwork needs even a saddle,” the Millbrook Society’s Facebook post reads. “His was the only shop in the Hatboro area that was able to do such specialized work. Ron’s talents were also in demand by military reenactors for period-correct leatherwork specializing in the American Revolution and Civil War.”

Beifuss, a history buff who was born and raised in Hatboro, turned his love of local history into a strong hobby and passion when he helped to found The Millbrook Society, a historic preservation and protection group in the community that dates back to the early 1980s.

The society, which is located on the second floor of the historic Baptist church on Old York Road in Hatboro, listed Beifuss as a member of the group’s board of advisors and a past president of the board of directors.

The Millbrook Society said Beifuss passed away peacefully at his residence. He had apparently been in declining health for many months.

“Because of his trade, he came to know many old-time Hatboro families and enjoyed learning Hatboro’s history from them,” the group’s Facebook post reads. “Ron would ask many questions and listen attentively to what he called walking history books.”

Beifuss ended up serving on Hatboro’s Bicentennial Commission, the board of directors of Hatboro’s Union Library, Hatboro’s Historical Commission, and the board of the William Tennent House Association, according to The Millbrook Society.

Beifuss also frequented The David Library of the American Revolution, he was a fellow of the Company of Military Historians, he served on the Princeton Battlefield Association, and he was a Revolutionary War and Civil War reenactor, according to The Millbrook Society. Beifuss was also an amateur archaeologist.