Boudreau, Thompson, Aston, Bozzone, Hall, McNulty, Kalaris, Pais, Chahine, Johnson, Holzer

Robert Boudreau, 97
In 1957 he conducted his first concert on the banks of the Allegheny in a former coal barge called the Point Counterpoint I. That was the beginning of the American Wind Symphony, which Boudreau founded and led as music director for the next 60 years. With the Point Counterpoint II, designed by Louis Kahn, Boudreau was able to travel the rivers of the U.S. and bring music to small-town America, and eventually as far as Paris and Leningrad. He commissioned more than 400 compositions for the wind symphony, which has double the woodwind, brass and percussion sections of a symphony orchestra, and personally piloted his barge, which became a floating cultural center when he incorporated other arts.

Dee Thompson, 84
His real name was DeHaven, but viewers of WPXI-TV knew the soft-spoken reporter as Dee. Whether it was a fire, storm, accident on the parkway or late-night shooting, Thompson was there. He spent so much time in bad weather during his 35 years with the station that colleagues would joke, “How cold is Dee Thompson?” He began his career at the Beaver Falls News-Tribune covering Joe Namath and went on to spend eight years as a sports reporter at WTAE, where he interviewed Roberto Clemente and went to Puerto Rico when his plane crashed. Thompson went 27 years without missing a day of work.

Charles Aston, 85
As the longtime librarian and head of the Special Collections and Rare Books department at the University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library, Aston avidly sought rare manuscripts, first editions and historical texts. He built a prestigious collection of priceless works, including a rare folio set of John James Audubon’s “Birds of America,” which he had restored and which is worth millions, and a 602-year-old copy of “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer — one of the rarest and most valuable texts in the world. He also incorporated the 11,387-volume collection, including many first editions, donated by Walter Leuba.

Robert Bozzone, 90
Bozzone joined Allegheny Ludlum Steel as a junior metallurgist and stayed for a remarkable 54 years, eventually becoming CEO and chairman of the board. During his tenure, the company grew from a small specialty steel producer to a global leader in specialty materials for aerospace, defense, oil and gas, and transportation. He helped to engineer a merger with Teledyne Corp. in 1996, creating Allegheny Teledyne (ATI). Though he sat on numerous boards, including Duquesne Light, Water Pik and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, his focus was on philanthropy and he served on the boards of the Salvation Army, Boy Scouts, United Way, Pittsburgh Foundation, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Science Center and Heinz History Center.

Roberta Hall, 87
She opened the Wallace Avenue Soup Kitchen in Wilkinsburg at 6:30 a.m. four days a week for 20 years, walking from her senior citizen high-rise five blocks away. Hall prepared meals, cleaned the kitchen, organized donated clothing and put fresh carnations in vases on tables. She also volunteered with a day care and lunch program and delivered meals to the homebound residents of her building. “I’m no couch potato,” she said when she was a finalist for the Jefferson Awards for Public Service. Hall loved playing the lottery, watching Alfred Hitchcock movies and “The Twilight Zone,” and died on her 87th birthday.

Tim McNulty, 54
Born in Gettysburg and raised in St. Louis, McNulty moved to Pittsburgh when his father became rector of Calvary Episcopal Church. Armed with an MA from the New York University School of Journalism, his first job was in the Washington bureau of the New York Times as an assistant to columnist Maureen Dowd. He then spent 18 years as an accomplished writer at the Post-Gazette, starting on the police beat but moving on to features and local politics. In 2014 he became a calm and steady presence for Mayor Bill Peduto as director of communications, and in 2021 became VP of Public Affairs for the Pittsburgh Penguins, all while fighting cancer that was diagnosed in 2016.

Gus Kalaris, 92
For 70 years, Gus & YiaYia’s Cart was a fixture on the North Side, where Kalaris sold ice balls and popcorn and gave away goodwill. His father bought the stand in 1934 for $175 and Kalaris started working there when he was 8. The late Dan Rooney was a regular customer and would autograph popcorn boxes for the kids. Kalaris was so beloved that in his later years he would park his car near the cart so he could sit there and chat with friends.

Tony Pais, 69
Born in Portugal, Pais moved to Pittsburgh in 1978 and became maître d’ of the legendary La Normande restaurant. He went on to open three of his own restaurants, leading them as an accomplished chef in the European tradition. Baum Vivant, Café Zao, and Cafe Zinho did much to elevate the restaurant scene in Pittsburgh and were in the vanguard of the locally grown food movement. But it was Pais’s warmth, charm, energy and kindness during his 45-year career that won him the biggest fans, even as he went through prolonged, pioneering treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

Youssef “Joe” Chahine, 76
The gregarious owner of Pitaland, a Lebanese grocery, bakery and café, was called the “Mayor of Brookline.” Born in Lebanon, he was in America on his honeymoon in 1974 when civil war broke out in Lebanon, preventing his return. He became an American citizen, eventually purchasing his brother’s bakery and expanding the business into wholesale. He was considered to be a pioneer in bringing Arabic food and culture to Pittsburgh, and he helped many refugees with immigration lawyers, community services and sometimes a place to stay in his home while they looked for housing.

J. Alan “Jerry” Johnson, 79
First as a prosecutor and later a defense attorney, Johnson was so effective that he was once considered to head the FBI. As the U.S. attorney in Pennsylvania’s Western District from 1981 to 1988, he prosecuted several high-profile cases, bringing down mobsters in a $23.2 million stolen securities sting and the drug dealers who sold cocaine to 19 Major League Baseball players, including former Pirates outfielder Dave Parker. Known for his outstanding legal mind, he was widely admired by his colleagues as a superb trial lawyer who could tell a great story.

Sy Holzer, 75
Anyone who knew Holzer — and it seemed everyone did — was touched by his warmth, wit, directness and generosity. It led him to excel in the banking business, rising to become regional president and CEO of PNC Bank. But his greatest contribution came through his civic and charitable work, especially with the Hillman Cancer Center. It was hard to say no to the affable Holzer, the son of Holocaust survivors who helped to raise $200 million for Hillman. He sat on many boards, including Pittsburgh Opera, the Fred Rogers Foundation, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, Children’s Hospital Foundation and the University of Pittsburgh. But he remained a Greenfield kid who never let success put a shine on the rough edges that endeared him to so many.