Master woodworker Frank Inesso enhanced many city landmarks
Frank Inesso and his brother, Richard, were known for their ability to make any type of architectural woodwork a client could imagine.
"People who would see something they liked in a castle in Europe would bring it to us to copy, and we could do it," Richard Inesso said, recalling the ICI Industries Inc. business that the two ran for about 25 years. His brother was passionate about carpentry and woodworking, and his artistry went into several prominent Pittsburgh office towers, churches and other buildings, he said.
Frank Savers Inesso of Morningside, a master carpenter and woodworker, died Thursday, May 19, 2011. He was 83.
Mr. Inesso grew up in Morningside, learned carpentry skills in the city's Connelley trade school in the Hill District and became a member of Carpenters Local 165. He worked in carpentry and cabinet making for 56 years, maintaining union memberships.
The brothers lived next door to each other and founded their business in Etna in the mid-1970s, said Richard Inesso of Morningside. They built interior pieces and installed floors for U.S. Steel Corp. and other companies in the U.S. Steel Tower, the city's tallest skyscraper. They also worked at the Alcoa and Gulf buildings and in Gateway Center.
"Almost any building you talk about Downtown, we did something there," he said, adding that while some jobs for Fortune 500 companies and other clients took them to New York and elsewhere, they focused on the tri-state area.
"We did design and drafting and engineering. We had a very sophisticated woodworking and architectural business -- we would make anything in wood," Richard Inesso said.
Their installations are in the Frick Art & Historical Center in the East End and several churches and synagogues throughout the region. Over a span of about 15 years, he said, the brothers completed interior woodworking projects at the Koch estate, a Tudor Gothic manse in Butler also known as Elm Court. Philanthropist Frederick R. Koch has bought and restored several historic properties in the United States and abroad.
The union company employed more than 50 people at its high point. The Inessos sold the business in 2000.
Mr. Inesso loved to hunt, fish and sing in the choir at St. Raphael Church. As he raised his family, "He always made sure we had the best of everything," said son Michael Inesso of Zephyr Hills, Fla. He said his father was a religious man who made sure his children attended Catholic school.
Survivors in addition to his brother and son include daughters Christine Sarsfield of Kansas City, Mo., Sharon Rozman of Bethel Park, Marilou DiBagno of Cape Coral, Fla., Monica Maloney of Leechburg and Andrea Karsh of Greenfield; son Francis Inversso of Dade City, Fla.; and 17 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by two wives, Mary Agnes Golden Inesso and Marie M. Inesso, and five brothers and sisters.
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today in McCabe Brothers Inc. Funeral Home, 6214 Walnut St., Shadyside. Funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the funeral home, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. in St. Raphael Church, 1118 Chislett St., Morningside.
The family asks that memorials be in the form of donations to the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1028 Benton Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15212.
