Masonry Magazine January 1980 Page.28
In Memoriam
# John P. Taheny
John P. Taheny, a past president and a founder of MCAA and president of Taheny Brothers Co., Chicago-based mason/ general contracting firm, died October 20. He was 67.
Mr. Taheny served as MCAA's third president in 1954-55, after having held the posts of treasurer and Convention and Exhibit Committee chairman in 1953. He also was active in the formation of the Allied Masonry Council in 1955 and later served on President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Advisory Council for Construction.
A World War II Navy veteran of the Pacific Theater, Mr. Taheny was a contractor for 45 years and operated his own firm from 1945 until 1965. In the formative years of MCAA, he was one of the guiding forces that helped to elevate the Association to the international recognition it enjoys today.
He is survived by his wife, Rose; four sons, Michael, John, James and Thomas; two daughters, Patricia Isbel and Nancy Kowal: 11 grandchildren; three sisters, and one brother.
# George W. Reed
Retired mason contractor George W. Reed died October 13 at age 84 in San Rafael. Calif., where he had resided for more than 30 years. He was a native of San Francisco and lived there until moving to Marin County in about 1948.
Following the path of his father who was in the construction business, Mr. Reed started his own business, George Reed Associates, when he was 16. He developed his firm into a major mason contracting organization in the San Francisco Bay area and installed the masonry on many major projects there including the Bank of America Building, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Pacific Telephone Building, and numerous government office buildings.
He was active in the San Francisco Chapter of MCAA and was a past president of that group.
Mr. Reed retired about 10 years ago. He was married for many years to Laura Reed, who died in 1968.
He is survived by a daughter, Joyce M. Pritchett; a sister, Daisy Roemer: three grandchildren, and one great-grandson.
# Nunzio Litterio
Nunzio Litterio, who headed one of Washington, D.C.'s leading mason contracting firms, died suddenly on July 4 of heart failure in Lewes, Del. He was 69.
Litterio Company was a cornerstone of masonry construction in the nation's capital. In many sections of the city, block after block are Litterio buildings.
In 1955 Mr. Litterio helped to organize the Masonry Institute in Washington and was a charter member. Last December the Institute bestowed on Mr. Litterio life membership, its highest honor. The plaque presented to him read in part: "He has carved an everlasting place for masonry in the Washington marketplace, for which his friends in the masonry industry owe a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid."
# Nicholas M. Popovic
Nicholas M. Popovic, past president of Local #21, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen, died October 31.
Mr. Popovic was a popular leader in the activities of the local union and was noted for his contributions in promoting masonry construction and harmonious labor relations in the Chicago area.
He is survived by his wife, Eva, and a daughter. Rita Schaeflein.