Harry C. Schiazza | Elmwood Rink owner, 77

Harry C. Schiazza, 77, of Rose Tree, the owner of a roller-skating rink, died of leukemia Thursday at home.

Mr. Schiazza grew up in Port Richmond and graduated from Northeast High School. As a teenager, he began working at Elmwood Rink, which his Italian immigrant father, Nicholas, opened in Southwest Philadelphia in 1946. He met his future wife, Helen Bussone, at the rink; he was 17 and she was 16.

He operated Elmwood Rink until it was sold in 1996 and also developed Schiazza Industrial Center in Collingdale.

At 33, he had a heart attack, his wife said, and his doctor suggested he find a hobby. He took up horseback riding, she said, and for years he rode with the Radnor Hunt. He also enjoyed classical music and opera.

In addition to his wife of 56 years, Mr. Schiazza is survived by a son, Robert; a daughter, Marie Nicole; a sister; and two grandchildren.

A Funeral Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. today at St. John Chrysostom Church, 615 S. Providence Rd., Wallingford. Friends may call from 9:30 to 10 a.m. at O'Leary Funeral Home, 640 Springfield Rd., Springfield. Entombment will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon.