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Eugene Feiner, manufacturer and philanthropist, dies at 88

Eugene Feiner, 88, a manufacturer and philanthropist known for his dapper dress and fondness for Rittenhouse Square eateries, died Wednesday of respiratory disease.

Eugene Feiner, manufacturer and philanthropist
Eugene Feiner, manufacturer and philanthropistRead more(c/o boydsphila.com)

Eugene Feiner, 88, a manufacturer and philanthropist known for his dapper dress and fondness for Rittenhouse Square eateries, died Wednesday of respiratory disease.

"Gene," as he was called, assumed leadership of the Acme Manufacturing Co., a sheet metal company founded early in the last century by his then-wife's family.

Mr. Feiner transformed the modest, Northeast-based firm into a leading national manufacturer of heating and air conditioning pipe and ductwork for the homebuilding industry, with plants in Atlanta, Chicago, western New York, and Mississippi.

When he sold the company to the Standex International Corp. in 1997 for an undisclosed sum, Acme had annual sales of $60 million.

He used his wealth to fund numerous charitable causes locally and in Israel, according to his daughter, Sharon Fisher.

These included the Eugene Feiner Laboratory for Vascular Biology and Thrombosis at Thomas Jefferson University, and a school library and recreation center in Haifa, Israel, which in 2001 honored him with the keys to the city.

Fisher said her father had also engaged in philanthropies "all over Israel," for which he sought no publicity. These included vocational schools for young people of both Jewish and Arab backgrounds. "He knew how important it was to have a trade," she said.

Former Gov. Ed Rendell, who sat shiva for Mr. Feiner last week, called him a "strong supporter and good friend."

"I met him in 1991 when I was running for mayor," Rendell recalled, and they bonded even though Mr. Feiner was a stalwart Republican. He not only donated generously to Rendell's political campaigns (including $50,000 to his 2001 gubernatorial primary race), "but never said no to any good cause I asked him to help," Rendell said.

These included Rendell's resolve in his first mayoral term to open the city's public swimming pools, many of them in disrepair. "Gene gave us a nice check," said Rendell, and "all the pools were open" for the summer of 1992.

Fisher described her father as a "Philly guy" from a modest background.

Despite a short time at Philadelphia College of Textiles, he considered himself a "self-made man," she said, who had no background in metallurgy when he married Florence Cohn and soon discovered her family's business needed someone to take charge.

As he prospered, he acquired a taste for fine clothing, and would "update his wardrobe each season," his daughter recalled. A 2008 ad campaign by Boyd's Philadelphia, the Center City clothing store, featured a photo of Mr. Feiner, smiling broadly, his arms wide, dressed in a "Brioni two-button side-vented pinstripe suit with barrel-cuff dress shirt, silk tie and pocket square."

The Daily News once reported he kept labels on his ties and pocket squares that reminded him which shirt and suit each went with.

"Dressing well was his hobby," said Fisher. "That and travel."

Nightlife and fine dining, too. He and his younger brother, Philip, were a familiar pair in the restaurants of Center City, especially Rittenhouse Square, where they dined regularly and knew many of the bartenders, doormen, and waiters by name.

Besides Fisher and Philip Feiner, he is survived by sons Larry and Glenn Feiner, longtime companion Rose Parrotta, seven grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. His former wife, Florence, and another brother, Jerome, predeceased him.

doreilly@phillynews.com

@doreillyinq

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