Edwin Hays Gott Jr.

Edwin Hays Gott Jr., son of Edwin H. Gott and Mary Louise Carr, brother to Barbara (Bobbie) Smith (husband, Keith) and Elizabeth (Betsy) Byerly (deceased), passed away at his home in Ligonier on October 15, 2025. He is survived by his loving wife, Barbara Balmer Gott, his sister Bobbie; his three children, Mary Elizabeth Gott, Edwin Hays Gott III (Tripper)(wife, Wendy), and Lindsay Hunter Gott; their mother Suzanne Grunnagle Gott; and four grandchildren (Nicholas Hays Gott, Lily Pauline Gott, Edwin Hays Gott (Hays), and Trudy Elizabeth Sanders). Also close to him were his stepdaughters Angela Gillentine and Heather Kress (husband, Rob).
Ed lived a full, adventurous, and ambitious life. He had many passions and excelled at what he pursued, becoming a successful entrepreneur, avid outdoorsman and wildlife conservationist, family patriarch, philanthropist, and art collector.
He was born in Pittsburgh on November 2, 1940, attended Shady Side Academy, and graduated from Lehigh University in 1963 with a degree in Industrial Psychology and the Presidency of Chi Phi fraternity. He then joined the U.S. Navy, attending Officers Candidate School, and served on the USS Norfolk for several years during the Vietnam War era.
His colleagues will remember him as an innovative visionary and trusted partner. Unwilling to live in his father's shadow, he began his career at Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. and worked at the Aliquippa Tin Plate Mill for many years while his children were young. He made the leap to entrepreneurship in 1984 when he and four partners bought and re-opened the shuttered J&L galvanizing plant along the Monongahela River. They set up a pioneering non-union, profit-sharing operation called MetalTech, rehiring many of the workers who had been laid off during the decline of the steel industry in Pittsburgh. The concept was very successful; two additional mills (NexTech, GalvTech) were opened before all were sold in 2007.
Ed spent much of his free time reclaiming an old strip mine and restoring its wetlands near Mercer, PA, creating a haven for migrating birds and other native fauna and flora. Ed found peace and relaxation in this endeavor and cherished the time camping and working the land with his family.
After retiring from "The Techs," Ed moved to Ligonier but stayed active in numerous commercial and non-profit boards. He formed The Gott Family Foundation which focused philanthropic efforts in Western Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Rolling Rock Club and served as its President from 2015-2018. There he met his beloved Barbara, whom he married in 2011. Their mutual love of fly fishing took them to destinations such as Argentina and Chile. He also became an accomplished sporting clay shooter, winning the Ohio Sub Gauge championship in his early 80s, and becoming a certified Level One Instructor.
Ed valued extended family connections deeply. He is credited with introducing even the reluctant ones to the joys of the outdoors and facilitated close family relationships among generations of cousins, nieces, and nephews through fishing and hunting trips and family reunions.
Ed Gott was blessed with unwavering perseverance. This served him in all his pursuits, including his bout with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, which he fought to the end without complaint. His determination, along with the stalwart and loving care of his wife, bought him extra time in the life he cherished. He will remain an inspiration and will be deeply missed.
He will be buried next to his parents at St. James Parish in Lothian, Maryland in a private ceremony.
Memorial contributions may be made in his name to: Hillman Cancer Center (Pittsburgh) or the ASPCA. Arrangements by THE RUSIEWICZ FAMILY OF FUNERAL DIRECTORS, ARNOLD & LOWER BURRELL. www.RusiewiczFH.com