Obituaries

C. Fred Fetterolf, Retired President of Alcoa

Friends will be welcomed at Copeland Funeral Home, 702 Beaver St., Sewickley, on Thursday, February 9 from 2-4 p.m., and from 7-9 p.m.

Service to others marks the life of Pittsburgh corporate and community leader C. Fred Fetterolf, who passed away on Sunday, February 5, 2012 due to complications from stroke.

He was retired president and chief operating officer of Alcoa, and served on the boards of many for- and not-for-profit organizations, regionally and nationally. Fred was born in Huntington, PA in 1928 and grew up in Rocky Grove, a community near Franklin.

He joined the Navy in 1946 and served a year on Aircraft Carrier USS Valley Forge. In 1948, he entered Grove City College, where he met his future wife, Frances Nelle Spang. Dubbed “Fiery Fred” by his teammates, he lettered in football, basketball, and golf. Fred graduated from Grove City in 1952 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry, and joined Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) as a salesman. He and Fran were married that same year and started their family: two children, Regan and Scott. The family relocated frequently as Fred served in a variety of capacities with ALCOA.

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They returned to the Pittsburgh headquarters in 1974 and settled in the village of . Fred was elected president of the company in 1938 and COO in 1985. He retired in 1991.

Remembering Fred's commitment to Christian values in the workplace, former Alcoa marketing executive David Schlendorf said, “Nobody ever had to give me a course in Values. Simply watching Fred Fetterolf was all the training anyone ever needed.”

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Many other companies also benefited from Fred's business acumen; he was a member of 10 publically held corporate boards, as well as two privately held companies; among them Mellon Bank, Praxair, Union Carbide, Ryan Homes, and Quaker State.

Pat Hassey, retired Chairman and CEO of Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) recalls that Fred was “a mentor of mine (also to many others) in my ALCOA days, and a major reason I came to Allegheny Technologies when he was serving on the Board of Directors.”

Fred's volunteer commitments were equally far reaching. He served on the Boards of Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Eastern College, WQED-TV, Salvation Army, and Boy Scouts of America. A trustee of Grove City College for 21 years, Fred chaired the college's first major capital campaign, which raised more than $69 million, far surpassing the proposed goal.

In the early 1990s, Fred became concerned about the escalation of violence, addiction, and abuse in Pittsburgh's inner-city neighborhoods, and he worked tirelessly with organizations focused on improving educational opportunities for at-risk kids. He served on the boards of Fund for the Advancement of Minorities through Education (FAME), Communities and Schools, and Hill House Ministries.

He formed the Board of Imani Christian Academy (East Hills) 12 years ago and chaired it until 2011; Imani currently serves 250 African-American students.

Leslie Braksick, Imani Board member and co-founder and chairman of Continuous Learning Group, Inc., says, “Fred Fetterolf was unmatched as a leader with great vision, intellect, tenacity, and faith. But what set Fred apart was his humility and his unwavering commitment to better the lives and futures of Pittsburgh's underserved children."

Fred received many honors and distinguished service awards over his lifetime. He was particularly honored to serve as chairman of the 1993 Billy Graham Crusade in Pittsburgh and to receive Grove City College's 2011 Athletic Heritage Award.

Fred is survived, and will be sorely missed, by Fran, Regan, and Scott, daughter-in-law Terri, and his beloved grandchildren Katie, Scott Jr., Ryan, Kelly, and Jacob.

Friends will be welcomed at , 702 Beaver St., Sewickley, on Thursday, February 9 from 2-4 p.m., and from 7-9 p.m.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 11 at 11:00 a.m. at in Sewickley. Burial will be private.

The family suggests memorial donations to one of the youth organizations with which Fred was most involved: FAME, Communities and Schools, and Imani Christian Academy.

Online condolences may be left at Copeland Funeral Home's tribute page


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