Eugene Grossi, headed steelwork firm

EUGENE J. Grossi, president and chief executive of Samuel Grossi and Sons Inc., a structural-steel fabricator and installer that did the steel work for many major construction projects in the Philadelphia area, died Monday. He was 66 and lived in Southampton.

Gene was also a 23-year member of the Centennial School Board in Bucks County, and served four terms as president and four as vice president. His financial acumen helped keep the district afloat in the '70s.

He was born in Philadelphia to Samuel and Nancy Grossi. He grew up in the Mayfair section and was a standout football player at Lincoln High School.

At age 16, he joined his father and brother, Robert, in the construction company. While working there, he studied at Drexel University, graduating with a bachelor of science in civil engineering in 1963.

He became president and CEO of the company the same year and went on to earn a master's degree in civil engineering from Drexel in 1965.

The company installed steel framing for more than 1,000 buildings over the years, including the Liacouras Center at Temple University, Citizens Bank Park, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Abington Memorial Hospital, Philadelphia International Airport, Temple Shriners Hospital, Independence Visitors Center and the University of Pennsylvania Center for Advanced Medicine, now under construction.

He won election to the Centennial School Board in 1975, and was reelected four times.

Gene was a strong supporter of labor unions, and as a school board member helped to negotiate nearly every contract with the Centennial Education Association, the Centennial Administrators Association and the Centennial Support Staff.

As the parent of two sons who attended Centennial schools, Gene served as an unpaid assistant coach of the high-school football team for several years. He also coached the Southampton Knights and Willow Grove Bears in football.

His skill at financial matters helped bail out the district when it was near bankruptcy in the '70s. His program for long-range financial planning is still in effect in the district.

Gene was instrumental in obtaining federal funding for impact aid for the Naval Air Warfare Center, and was active in other community activities.

As an avid golfer, he was most proud of a hole-in-one he scored on April 21, 2001, at the Huntingdon Valley Country Club. He also belonged to the Mid Ocean Golf Club in Bermuda, a favorite vacation spot.

Besides his brother, Robert, and his mother, Nancy Grossi, he is survived by his wife of 43 years, the former Elaine LaMazza; two sons, Eugene Jr. and John, and seven grandchildren.

Services: Funeral Mass 10 a.m. tomorrow at Gloria Dei Church, 570 Welsh Road, Huntingdon Valley. Friends may call at 6 this evening at the Helweg Funeral Service, 463 Old York Road, Jenkintown.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Pulmonary Research Fund of the Children's Hospital Foundation, Box 7790, Philadelphia 19101-7790. *