Robert W. Off, a former banker and longtime president of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission -- a private foundation established by Andrew Carnegie in 1904 to honor acts of civilian heroism in the United States and Canada -- died Friday. He was 90.

Family members said the cause of death was unknown, but Mr. Off had been in poor health for the last couple of years. He had been living in the Ligonier Gardens Personal Care & Retirement Center.

Mr. Off was an assistant vice president in charge of commercial lending for the former Mellon Bank, where he was employed from 1946 to 1979.

Upon his retirement, he became the sixth of seven presidents who have so far taken leadership of the Hero Fund Commission, which the industrialist Mr. Carnegie endowed by noting that: "Not seldom are we thrilled by deeds of heroism where men or women are injured or lose their lives in attempting to preserve or rescue their fellows."

To date, the organization has awarded 9,372 medals and $32.4 million to awardees or their dependents in grants, scholarship assistance, on-going aid, and funeral reimbursement funds.

Mr. Off joined the board of the commission in 1973 and was shortly named its treasurer. He served on its executive committees in an honorary capacity until 1979, when he was elected president and joined the staff.

He went off the organization's payroll in 1990, but continued in his capacity as president until his retirement in 2001. He was then elected an honorary member of the board, a position he held until his death.

"I can appreciate the dedication and commitment that Bob provided. Without question, the Hero Fund remains stronger, of good repute and, most importantly, viable largely through the initiatives that he conceived and oversaw during his tenure," said Mark Laskow, current president of the commission.

Walter Rutkowski, the commission's executive director, said Mr. Off's tenure saw a 237 percent increase in the commission's portfolio, from $9.8 million to $33 million, and oversaw $9.9 million in charitable giving, or 42 percent of the total awards distributed from 1904 through 1998.

Mr. Rutkowski also said Mr. Off also implemented the computerization of office procedures and records and reduced the organization's operating costs by streamlining case investigative procedures.

Born in Winnetka, Ill., Mr. Off attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., and graduated from The Hun School of Princeton, a college preparatory school in New Jersey in 1938. He went on to receive a degree in geology from the University of Virginia in 1942.

Mr. Off joined the U.S. Army Air Force in 1941 and served in Italy on a B-24 Liberator for much of World War II, receiving several awards including the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals and two Presidential Citations.

A squadron leader, he was honorably discharged at the rank of captain in 1945, said Joe Moravec, his son-in-law.

After the war, Mr. Off returned to Pittsburgh and married Augusta "Polly" Bickel on June 15, 1946 and the couple settled in Squirrel Hill where they lived for many years. His wife died in 1991.

An amateur photographer, Mr. Off was also an avid golfer who enjoyed vacationing at his summer home in Hyannis Port, Mass., said Mr. Moravec.

Surviving are daughters, Augusta Moravec of Bethesda, Md., Helen Arnold of Dedham, Mass.; son, Robert of Cincinnati; and six grandchildren.

A private burial will be held at Allegheny Cemetery on Sept. 18. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Sept. 20 in St. Michael's of the Valley Episcopal Church in Ligonier.

Arrangements are being handled by John A. Freyvogel Funeral Home, Shadyside.

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