Obituary of Frank M. Precopio

Frank was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the third of four children born to Antoinette and Dominic Precopio, recent immigrants from Italy.  The Calabrese Italian dialect was his first language.

Frank attended Classical High School, the public magnet academic high school in Providence.  He graduated in 1942.  He was class valedictorian and was also class president.

Frank was awarded a generous partial scholarship to Brown University where he studied chemistry.  In 1943 Frank joined the Navy and was enrolled in the V-12 Officer Training Program.  He was commissioned as an Ensign the day after his 20^th birthday and served aboard the USS Juneau as a gunnery officer.  The war ended as the ship was readying for action in the South Pacific.

After the war, Frank resumed his studies at Brown and graduated with a degree in chemistry with highest honors.  He was awarded a full scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Yale University.

After graduation from Yale in 1951, Frank joined the General Electric Company.  He started in their research facility in Schenectady, NY working on wire and cable coatings.  In 1955, he filed a patent for Peroxide Cured Polyethylene which later became known as Crosslinked Polyethylene.  This invention revolutionized the wire and cable industry.  It allowed a much thinner and more reliable coating to be used in underground electric cable and other uses.

On April 28, 1956 Frank married Rita Marie Carr.  They had met on a blind date in Kansas City 2 years earlier when Frank was there to present his graduate research to the meeting of the American Chemical Society.  They had lived in Erie, PA, Fairfield CT and ended up in Fort Washington, PA for many years.  Frank and Rita had three sons, Thomas, Frank and Mike.  Thomas predeceased his father in 1999.

After 15 years Frank left General Electric and became the Director of Research at Amchem Products in Ambler, PA.   The company developed several significant products under his direction.  He eventually became President and served as Vice President and General Manager after Amchem was acquired by Henkel Corporation.

Frank had his first retirement in 1990.  Before his retirement, he helped his son, Michael, purchase the Summers Laboratories line of dermatological pharmaceuticals.  In 1990, Frank joined Summers Labs as Research Director.  In his second career at Summers Labs, Frank worked tirelessly on everything ranging from accounting and FDA regulatory issues to manufacturing and sharing his years of business wisdom.

At age 87, Frank retired from Summers Laboratories and in 2017 he and Rita moved to Meadowood Senior Living where he made and enjoyed many friends until he passed.

The Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, Mar 7 at 11:00 AM at Saint Genevieve Church 1225 Bethlehem Pike, Flourtown

A Visitation will be held on Saturday, Mar 7 from 10:00 to 11:00 AM at the church before the Funeral Mass

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Meadowood Benevolence Fund, P.O. Box 670, Worcester, PA 19490.  Checks would be made to Meadowood Benevolence Fund