Anthony F. Pileggi, 86, a construction firm owner and community activist

Anthony F. Pileggi, 86, of Wallingford, a construction firm owner and community activist, died Tuesday, Feb. 14, of respiratory arrest at Riddle Memorial Hospital.

The son of Italian immigrants, Mr. Pileggi grew up in Chester. He graduated from Archmere Academy in Claymont, Del.

During World War II, he served in the Army in Europe. After his discharge in 1946, he joined the Chester masonry contracting business of his father, Dominic, and studied engineering at Drexel University at night.

Mr. Pileggi eventually headed D. Pileggi & Sons. The firm, now in Media, specializes in industrial and commercial construction and renovations.

He also cofounded with his father and two brothers Concord Plywood & Supply Co. in Upland and Beautiful Home Centers in Claymont. He and his two sons founded Parkside Holdings, a real estate holding and development company.

Though he turned over the day-to-day operations of D. Pileggi & Sons to his two sons in the mid-1990s, he stayed involved in the business, his son Dominic said. "He loved visiting job sites and meeting clients and subcontractors. He would tell you if he didn't agree with what you were doing, and later you would find out he was right," he said.

In the community, Mr. Pileggi was past president of the Columbus Savings & Loan Association and the Main Line Chapter of UNICO National, an Italian American service organization. He was on the board of UNICO Village, an affordable-housing complex for seniors in Southwest Philadelphia.

He also served on the boards of the Columbus Quincentennial Foundation, the Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Brandywine Business and Professional Association, and ARC of Philadelphia, a provider of services for people with disabilities. He helped establish American Heritage Plaza, a courtyard behind the courthouse in Media dedicated to Delaware County immigrants, and was a member of Sons of Italy Lodge 12 in Chester for 56 years.

A devout Catholic, Mr. Pileggi was a member of the Knights of Columbus and was past president of the Delaware County Holy Name Society. For 45 years he attended annual retreats at St. Joseph's-in-the-Hills in Malvern.

He was honored as man of the year by the Columbus Memorial Association in 1986 and by the Brandywine Business and Professional Association in 1999.

In addition to his son, Mr. Pileggi is survived by daughters Antonia Keg and Cecile; two brothers; nine grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter. His wife of 53 years, Cecilia Niedziejko Pileggi, and a son, Walter, both died in 2006.

Friends may call from 8:30 a.m. until a Funeral Mass at 10 on Friday, Feb. 17, at St. John Chrysostom Church, 617 Providence Rd., Wallingford. Burial will be in Immaculate Heart Cemetery, Upper Chichester.

Donations may be made to the Anthony and Cecilia Pileggi Family Scholarship, Neumann University, 1 Neumann Dr., Aston, Pa. 19014.