Alexander N. Lairo

After a brief hospitalization, Alex Lairo, 91, died in his sleep Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, in Frankfurt, Germany. His wife of 65 years, Bernadine Wagner Lairo, and their two children, Peter Lairo, of Frankfurt and Jeanene Lairo, of Maryland, were with him. Alex, born and raised in Vandergrift, graduated from Vandergrift High School Class of 1948, and spent most of his adult life living in Germany. Alex bought a small cleaning shop at 18, later enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserves, serving most of his time in Atsugi, Japan (UN Forces) during the Korean War. After a Bachelor of Science in education from IUP in 1957 and a Master's of education from Pitt in 1959, Alex worked for 10 years as a school administrator for the Department of Defense Overseas Dependents Schools, DoDDS. During his tenure with the U.S. military overseas schools, he was promoted from teacher-principal to supervising school principal. He spent most of his education career in Germany with one year in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His innovative individualized learning program received wide acceptance within the schools system. Mr. Lairo left the schools system to become an owner of a real estate company in Frankfurt and subsequently in 1972 founded Lairco Business Services GmbH. "Lairco", at four Frankfurt locations, over its 35 years of existence, was instrumental in giving many hundreds of US companies an initial start in the German-European market. Mr. Lairo was also the European director for the Pittsburgh-based Penns Southwest Association, attracting German companies to establish a presence in the southwestern counties of Pennsylvania. A man at ease with peoples of all ages, origins and walks of life, his home in Bonames, Frankfurt, was a magnet for those seeking diverse and intense conversations. In his pursuit of information and the elusive truth, he challenged conventional wisdom and asked us to do the same.Alex will be missed by his family and the many people he met, befriended and helped throughout his fully-lived life. He was one of a kind. Survivors include his wife, Bernie, previously of Verona, his two adult children, Peter Lairo and Jeanene Lairo, and her husband, Michael Ryan, and four grandchildren, Kassandra Lairo, Lilia Lairo, Frederick Ryan and Francesca Ryan. Survivors also include Alex's brother, Alfred Pietro Lairo, and sister-in-law, Karen Nelson Lairo, and their three children, of New Berlin, Ill. Also surviving are the three adult nieces and nephew of his deceased sister, Vivienne Marie Lairo Leporati, and brother-in-law, Paul Eugene Leporati, of Florida. Burial will be in the family plot in the Apollo Cemetery at a later date when family members can attend.