John Stuart Alexander (1937 - 2015)

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Note NI10John Stuart Alexander Jr., age 77, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, January 4, 2015, while staying at his winter home in Naples, Florida with his loving wife, Leslie (Gercken) Alexander.

Born August 7, 1937 in Lenoir, NC, he was the son of Evelyn (Hyatt) Alexander and the late John Stuart Alexander Sr.

Mr. Alexander maintained his primary residence in Prospect, Butler County, since the late 1970's. He was a steel industrialist, entrepreneur, and visionary. His core expertise was the slag and scrap reclamation business that serviced the steel industry. Mr. Alexander's sixty-year career in the steel processing and reclamation industry focused on identifying emerging trends in steel and foundry production as well as recycling waste materials. His uncanny vision enabled him to predict a fundamental change in the steel industry that led to the creation of Alexander Mill Services, a mini-conglomerate that included highly successful companies headquartered in Harmony, Butler County. Alexander Mill Services served many of the top names in high-tech steel production in the United States and Europe. His entrepreneurial spirit and vision led him to many other areas such as plastics, retail clothing, cabinetry, and supermarkets. One of his fondest endeavors involved Prospect Aviation. Mr. Alexander, an accomplished pilot, could often be found behind "the stick" of one of Prospect Aviation's planes. In 1994, Mr. Alexander was named a Finalist for the Pittsburgh/Western Pennsylvania "Entrepreneur of the Year" award. Known to his friends simply as "Big John," Mr. Alexander's reputation for honesty, fairness, kindness, and uncompromising highest quality work, coupled with humorous recollections of his boyhood in North Carolina, produced many enduring friendships all over the world.

In addition to his wife and mother, Mr. Alexander is survived by his five children, John S. Alexander III, and his wife, Bobi-Jean, of Cranberry Township, PA Jeanette Weyman, and her husband, Dennis, of Harmony, PA, Joan Alexander, of Harrisburg, PA, Megan Alexander and Mollie Alexander, both of Prospect, PA; six grandchildren, Josh, Annie, Hannah, Madison, Allison and Ayla; two brothers, Charles Alexander, and his wife, Billy Sue, of SC and Robert Alexander, and his wife Janet, of FL and two sisters, Frances Alexander and Elizabeth Alexander, and her husband, Richard, of Harrisburg, PA.

The Alexander family will welcome friends on Friday, January 9th from 4-8 P.M. and Saturday, January 10th from 11 A.M. until the time of a Funeral Service at 5 P.M. at the Boylan Funeral Home, Inc., 324 E. Grandview Avenue, Zelienople, with Rev. Dr. John K. Jefferis, officiating.In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in support of Mr. Alexander to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, P.O. Box 89367, Tampa, Florida 33689 «u»www.specialops.org <http:/www.specialops.org>«u» or The Salvation Army at donate.salvationarmyusa.org.

Published on Pennlive.com and in The Patriot-News on Jan. 8, 2015.

http:/obits.pennlive.com/obituaries/pennliveobituary.aspx?pid=173772399

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