Anthony Greco, 94, apparel manufacturer
A graveside service with full military honors is to be held Friday, May 22, for Sgt. Anthony Greco, 94, of Ambler, a World War II veteran and retired apparel manufacturer. He died Saturday, Feb. 21, of unclear causes at Abington Memorial Hospital.
A graveside service with full military honors is to be held Friday, May 22, for Sgt. Anthony Greco, 94, of Ambler, a World War II veteran and retired apparel manufacturer. He died Saturday, Feb. 21, of unclear causes at Abington Memorial Hospital.
Sgt. Greco, the son of immigrants from Italy, grew up in South Philadelphia during the Great Depression.
He operated a sewing machine at the Joseph H. Cohen factory at Broad Street and Lehigh Avenue, where he rose to become president of the Philadelphia Local Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union.
He served in the Army for more than three years during World War II and received citations for meritorious conduct in going behind enemy lines to rescue three wounded comrades; for rushing a German foxhole and capturing its occupants; and for conducting night surveillance of enemy outposts and positions in dangerous terrain.
On returning home from the war, Sgt. Greco married Frances Rose Pancari.
He and his brother, Domenick, opened and ran a garment factory called Bethlehem Sportswear Manufacturing Inc., in Bethlehem, Pa.
In the early 1950s, Sgt. Greco moved the factory to North Philadelphia and created Center City Manufacturing Co. At one point, the plant was the largest manufacturer of boys' dungarees on the East Coast, his family said in a prepared statement.
The business included a New York-based sales office and the plant in Center City with 250 sewing machines. He employed 150 people until 1969 when foreign trade undercut his prices and put him out of business.
Sgt. Greco, along with sons Domenic and Anthony, continued manufacturing and began a contracting business on a smaller scale, enough to support a comfortable lifestyle, his family said.
During the early 1960s, Sgt. Greco spent summers at the Jersey Shore. He owned two boats and loved fishing before replacing his life on the water with a landlubber's golf clubs. He joined the Cedarbrook Country Club in Blue Bell, and stayed active socially for 51 years.
"It was during this time that Tony established many lifelong friendships, and at the time of his death he was amongst the oldest active, honorary members of the club," his family said.
After his retirement in 1980, the clothier Levi Strauss enlisted Sgt. Greco as a consultant, to go to Guatemala and teach good work habits to the workers in the firm's factories there.
An avid reader, Sgt. Greco would read the daily newspaper from cover to cover; he also watched the TV shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!
Besides his wife of 65 years, he is survived by a son, Anthony J.; daughter Francine; seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Son Domenic died in 2013, and a brother and sister also died earlier.
Sgt. Greco will be interred with full military honors at 11:30 a.m. Friday, May 22, at the Washington Crossing National Cemetery, 830 Highland Rd., Newtown.