Charles F. Kain, 91, engineer, rower

Charles F. Kain, 91, of Havertown, a retired engineer and former champion rower, died Tuesday at his home.

Mr. Kain grew up in Fairmount and graduated from Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia. He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Villanova University at age 19. In 1975, he received an award from Villanova for his contributions to the engineering profession.

During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps, and flew 35 missions over France and Germany as a navigator on B-17 bombers.

In 1948, Mr. Kain cofounded Kain & Hooven Associates, which later became Zenith Engineers Inc. in Ardmore. The firm's clients included the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the City of Philadelphia, and several municipalities in the mid-Atlantic states. After retiring from his firm in the mid-1990s, he continued to do consulting work. He was past president of the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers.

He served on the board of the Llanerch Fire Company and was a member of the Archdiocesan Cemetery Commission.

For more than 70 years, Mr. Kain was a member of the Fairmount Rowing Association. He rowed competitively for the club from 1936 until 1952, with time out for military service, and won four national championships. He was a past vice commodore of the Schuylkill Navy, and was the author of the second volume of the history of the organization of rowing clubs.

An accomplished golfer, Mr. Kain shot a hole-in-one on the 17th green of the Llanerch Country Club, where he was a member for 48 years. He enjoyed mountain climbing and hiking in New England and Colorado.

Mr. Kain is survived by sons Michael, Stephen and Thomas; daughters Helen Galli, Joan Gail, Catherine Donegan, Elizabeth Tell, and Mary Eileen Nash; a sister; 29 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren. His wife of 63 years, Helene McElwee Kain, died in 2007. A son, Christopher, died in 2005.

A Funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. today at St. Laurence Church, which Mr. Kain's firm helped to construct, 8245 West Chester Pike, Upper Darby. Friends may call from 9:30. Burial will be in SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Marple Township.