It seemed that Dennis Narcisi never met a grape or person he didn’t like.

He was not a big man physically, just five-and-a-half-feet tall weighing only 140 pounds. But his son, Randy, remembered him as a huge person.

“He was just a quiet, little guy who didn’t have a mean bone in his body. But he was so strong in his will to be a part of everyone’s lives and to make people enjoy the finer things in life,” Randy Narcisi said Thursday. “He was such a big person in that way.”

One of the ways Dennis Narcisi helped people enjoy those finer things was through his wine-making. He was co-founder and winemaker of the popular Narcisi Winery in West Deer, which made him a figure people wanted to meet.

After a battle with lymphatic cancer, Dennis Ralph Narcisi died peacefully at his Shaler home Sunday surrounded by his family and friends. He was 77.

He was born Aug. 13, 1942, in Wilkinsburg. After graduating from Hampton High School, Narcisi earned a bachelor’s degree from California State Teachers’ College in 1965, followed by a master’s equivalent. He then began instructing Industrial Arts in the Babcock School District, which later evolved into the Pine-­Richland School District.

Narcisi’s wife of more than 51 years, Sara Jane, said he loved teaching.

“He had a lot of strength and patience,” she said. “He was kind and caring and would accept any type of individual in his class, the most needy children. Other Industrial Arts teachers would keep those kids from being in their class, but he didn’t do that.

“He would take whoever he was given and would work with them to realize their full potential.”

Narcisi developed a groundbreaking computer-­aided design course that gave students the opportunity to earn three college credits while still in high school.

“He enjoyed seeing people grow and learn,” his son said.

He also introduced an innovative class called Art Metal that allowed students to make metal sculptures and other works of art. The course brought a significant number of girls into metal shop for the first time.

“Back in those days, (1980s, 1990s) that was really cutting edge,” his wife said.

Dennis and Sara Jane met on a blind date. He was quiet and didn’t exactly sweep her off her feet. But eventually she fell in love.

“He was so sweet and caring and gentle,” Sara Jane said.

They had two sons, Randy and Anthony, and Narcisi took the same approach to fatherhood that he did with teaching.

“Being a high school teacher, he saw every trick in the book from his students,” Randy said. “He would say, ‘If you’ve done something wrong, just tell me and we can deal with it. If you broke something, just tell me and I’ll teach you how to fix it.’

“He expected us to fess up to things and he would work with us. And we did that.”

Narcisi shared his hobbies and interests with his boys, including classic model train building.

They also kept over 50 fish tanks and won numerous awards for breeding and raising tropical and saltwater fish. For years, Narcisi was an active board member of the Greater Pittsburgh Aquarium Society.

But his true passion was making wine. He made wine at home for 20 years.

After retiring from teaching, he decided to open a winery and brought his sons into the business.

“I’ve heard hundreds of times about the influence he made on people’s lives and once he started a winery, he wanted to teach everybody about wine,” Randy said. “He’s got thousands of people out there that are his fans and come to the winery to see him.”

The winery has become a success largely because of the way Narcisi helped people realize that they didn’t have to deal with snobbery to enjoy wine, according to his son.

“He was excited about getting people who were not wine drinkers to discover wine because wine can be intimidating,” Randy said. “And people might decide they don’t like wine because they haven’t tried the right kind. And our winery is an avenue where you can come in and taste many different wines, and he got a kick out of getting people to find the specific wine that they like.

“They don’t make ‘em like that anymore. He would never give up on anybody. He would stick with you to the end. He was absolutely an amazing person.”

Dennis Narcisi is survived by his wife, Sara Jane (David) Narcisi; two sons, Randy and Anthony; and his grandchildren, Anthony Campbell, Alessandra Anne, and Christian Randall. He was preceded in death by his parents, Albert Patsy and Anne (Semran) and sister, Patricia Anne.

Visitation is until 8 p.m. Thursday at Neely Funeral Home, 2208 Mt. Royal Boulevard in Glenshaw.

The funeral service is 11 a.m. Friday at Parkwood United Presbyterian Church, 4289 Mt. Royal Blvd, Allison Park, PA 15101.

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