Frank J. Rossi of South Greensburg enjoyed ballroom dancing so much, and was so good at it, that he was an instructor at an Arthur Murray dance studio in the 1950s in Pittsburgh.

“He loved to dance. He was still dancing up until the last few years,” said his son, Rocco A. Rossi Sr. of New Stanton. Until recently, he would go dancing three days a week and even outlived a few of his dancing partners, Rossi said.

Mr. Rossi, 83, of South Greensburg died Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, in his home.

He was born March 13, 1935, in Greensburg, a son of the late Rocco D. and Caroline Palmaverde Rossi.

He grew up in Carbon and was a graduate of Greensburg High School, where he learned the skills he would use as a draftsman later in life.

As a young man, he earned money by carrying block for Greensburg Concrete Block for 25 cents an hour, Rossi said. He also sold shoes for his brother-in-law, Jack Spotts, at Spotts’ Kinney Shoe Store in the Greensburg area, Rossi said.

Using the drafting skills he learned in high school, he worked for Westinghouse Electric’s Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in West Mifflin.

He was a member of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Greensburg, and was a life member of the Roosevelt Club, Hempfield.

In his younger days, he enjoyed going to the family’s hunting cabin, Rossi said.

For much of his life, he was an avid bowler, playing in leagues at Hillview Bowling Lanes, Hempfield.

Mr. Rossi had an ability to accept other people, regardless of their station in life.

“He loved everybody. It was unreal. He held nothing against anybody,” Rossi said.

He loved to be around people and just “needed to laugh,” Ross said.

“He was a special person to a lot of people,” Rossi said of his father.

Mr. Rossi was preceded in death by his wives, Lois Jane (Emerick) Rossi and Josephine (Fiorina) Rossi.

In addition to Rocco, he also is survived by three other sons, Frank J. Rossi of Irwin, Victor A. Rossi Sr., of Beaver County and Nicholas F. Rossi of Mt. Pleasant; one daughter, and Dianna M. Rossi Barnes of New Stanton; several grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and one sister and one brother.

Friends and family were received at the Leo M. Bacha Funeral Home Inc., 516 Stanton St., Greensburg. A funeral service was held Sunday and interment was in Westmoreland County Memorial Park, Hempfield.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)