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Lawrence A. Ciletti, 70; ran frame and door company

Lawrence A. Ciletti, 70, of Moorestown, president of Tru-Fit Frame & Door Corp., died of leukemia Friday, Feb. 24, at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Lawrence A. Ciletti, 70, of Moorestown, president of Tru-Fit Frame & Door Corp., died of leukemia Friday, Feb. 24, at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Mr. Ciletti grew up in South Philadelphia and helped support his mother and sister after leaving school in the sixth grade. A longtime friend and colleague, Glen Bennett, recalled that Mr. Ciletti was thrown out of Daniel Boone School for delinquent students.

"He was this little kid and he was always fighting," said Bennett, who has been with the company for more than 25 years and now helps run it.

Mr. Ciletti unloaded boxcars and worked for his uncle's catering business. Later, he worked in lumber yards and for a door and window company.

In 1972, he established Tru-Fit in Palmyra with five employees. In 1992, he moved the firm to Pennsauken.

Tru-Fit now has 70 employees and, according to Bennett, has provided products and services to major construction projects in the Philadelphia area, including the Kimmel Center, the Comcast Tower, Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"I met Larry when he was fishing in Cape May. I was a senior in college, and he hired me," Bennett said.

When he was enlarging the business, Mr. Ciletti worked 12-hour days and sometimes slept on his desk. He was so tenacious, Bennett said, "he would brag that if he were a kamikaze pilot he would hit the ship twice."

When employees had an alcohol or drug problem, "Larry would send them to rehab and hold their job for them. He understood when someone made a mistake and helped them change their lives," Bennett said, calling Mr. Ciletti a "soft touch" who gave money to friends and employees in need.

Mr. Ciletti was a benefactor and served on the President's Advisory Board and the Capital Endowment Oversight Board of SS. Neumann Goretti High School in South Philadelphia. He received an honorary diploma from the school and in 1999 was named "Man of the Year" by the Millay Club, the school's alumni association. In 2010, he received an honorary degree from Drexel University's LeBow College of Business.

A Phillies and Eagles fan, Mr. Ciletti also owned race horses that ran at PhiladelphiaPark and was an occasional "lucky" gambler at Atlantic City casinos. He loved fishing and sailed his 58-foot Viking yacht off South Jersey and Key West, Fla.

He looked like the actor Joe Pesci and was just as funny, Bennett said, adding, "He was a great storyteller."

Mr. Ciletti is survived by a stepson, Peter Swetra; a niece, Donna Regalbuto; and a nephew, Ernie Ragonesi. His wife, Beverly Swetra Ciletti, died in 2007.

A Funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 3, at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 2500 Branch Pike, Cinnaminson. Friends may call from 8:30 a.m. Entombment will be in Lakeview Memorial Park, Cinnaminson.

Donations may be made to the Millay Club, Larry and Beverly Ciletti Scholarship Fund, 1736 S. 10th St., Philadelphia 19148.