Stephen Crognale; owned company

Stephen W. Crognale, 63, owner of an electrical equipment distributor in Warminster, died at his home in Doylestown Thursday, the day after he came home from a six-month convalescence following a heart transplant at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The cause of death was not immediately determined.

"For the past six months, he fought with all his strength to get well enough to come home," said his daughter, Christina. "His home was his sanctuary."

Born in North Philadelphia, Mr. Crognale graduated in 1962 from Northeast High School. In 1969, he married Patricia McDermott, a redhead who also grew up in the Northeast.

The couple lived in Richboro, and he worked for Wistex Inc., a distributor of electrical devices. After his son was born, he was determined to give his family a good life. He enrolled at La Salle University and in 1974 earned a bachelor's degree with a dual major in marketing and physics.

Afterward, he purchased the company he was working for, Wistex, and founded another. In 1980, he started SWC Industries Inc., a distributor of electrical supplies based in Warminster.

In 1990, the family moved to a Victorian home on 11 acres in Doylestown. He found joy in caring for the land and cutting the grass on his riding lawn mower. He also had a fondness for vintage cars. He restored a 1957 Ford Fairlane and a 1984 Cadillac Coupe de Ville.

Mr. Crognale was a member of Knights of Columbus Raymond V. Hennessy Council No. 6145.

He worked until the day after Christmas, when he experienced shortness of breath. The following month, he underwent two open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Crognale is survived by a son, Stephen Jr., and a brother.

Friends may visit at 9:45 a.m. today at John F. Fluehr & Sons, 3301 Cottman Ave., and at 9:45 a.m. tomorrow at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 235 E. State St., Doylestown. A Funeral Mass will be said at 11. Burial will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham.

Donations may be sent to the Gift of Life Donor Program, 401 N. Third St., Philadelphia 19123.