William Giarla

GIARLA WILLIAM
Of Mt. Lebanon, PA, formerly of Nahant, MA, entered into eternal rest June 4, 2007. His wife Joanne (Dixon) and his daughter Katie were by his side. He is finally at peace after a long battle with ALS (commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease). He was happily married for 23 years and had two beautiful children; Katherine (Katie) and Kenneth (Kenny). He was the son of Dorothy (Long) and Robert Giarla, both deceased. In addition to his wife and children he is survived by seven brothers and sisters who loved him dearly: Bob (Linda), Judie (Sid McQueen), David (Andrea), Dorothy (John Govoni), Richard (Julie), Jerry (Anne) and Betty Ann (Peter MacIsaac). Bill was more than a brother-in-law to Joanne's family, who came to love him as a brother: Ed Dixon, Paul (Gayle) Dixon, Kevin Dixon, Jan (Terry Smith), Monica (Drew Dentino), Mark (Sue) Dixon and Dennis Dixon. They were by his side throughout his illness. He is also survived by 36 nieces and nephews who loved and revered their uncle with all of their hearts and souls. Bill was the president of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Harvard, Yale, Princeton Club having received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 1975. He then earned his Juris Doctorate from Duke University. He worked as an associate in Pittsburgh for Buchanan Ingersoll in the litigation section in the early 1980's and later practiced briefly with Westinghouse Corporation before moving on to Koppers Industries (later acquired by Beazer and then Hanson). It was in these latter years he developed a reputation for his mastery of reinsurance and reclamation aspects of environmental law and maintained a working association and affiliation with the firm of Babst, Calland, Clements, & Zomnir. In November of 1994, his sister-in-law, Martha Dixon, was tragically killed in a shootout in the Washington D.C. police headquarters. Bill became the president of the Martha Fund, dedicated to building children's playgrounds in her memory. The first ten years the fund made many contributions to playgrounds in the Pittsburgh area. In 2007 his dream of a signature playground was realized when Martha's Playground, a children's wonderland, opened in Mt. Lebanon Park. Bill was considered the driving force behind its approval, development and construction. Although a New England native, Bill became an avid Pittsburgh sports fan, sharing Steeler and Pirate season tickets and often frequenting Pitt basketball games. An accomplished athlete himself, Bill was inducted into the Lynn Classical High School Sports Hall of Fame in Lynn, Massachusetts. He was quarterback and captain of his football team and captain of his basketball team. He was a member of the St. Vincent DePaul Society, offering assistance to the needy of his parish community. With great enthusiasm Bill coached his daughter and her friends in youth soccer and basketball for 5 years and then became their greatest fan. Viewing will be Wednesday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM, and Thursday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at LAUGHLIN MEMORIAL CHAPEL, 222 Washington Road, Pittsburgh, PA. In lieu of flowers please send donations to the Martha Fund, 933 Rockwood Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15234. Mass of Christian burial will be held Friday at 10:30 AM at St. Anne Roman Catholic Church, 400 Hoodridge Dr., Mt. Lebanon, PA.
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