Dec 2, 2013

Former attorney, was avid reader

Frank A. Conte, 84, of Washington, died Saturday, November 30, 2013, in Donnell House, Washington.

He was born April 25, 1929, in Monongahela, a son of Antonio and Rose Iovino Conte.

Raised in Monongahela, he was a 1947 graduate of Monongahela High School and a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and Pittsburgh School of Law.

Mr. Conte was admitted to practice in the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County in 1958 and thereafter admitted to the Appellant Courts of Pennsylvania, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States and various federal appellant courts. For two years, he served as law clerk for three judges of the Washington County Court of Common Pleas. He served for many years as attorney for the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Washington, participating in a wide range of community development, economic development and housing projects. He served as trial attorney in contract and personal injury cases, represented estate fiduciaries in Orphans Court and was solicitor for the Register of Wills for 20 years. For more than 50 years, he privately practiced law in the city of Washington.

Prior to admission to the bar, he served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War as a cryptanalyst with the Army Security Agency for three years.

He served as president of the Washington County Bar Association, in which he participated on many committees. He served as president of the Family Service of Washington County and on other community boards, such as Heart Association, Red Cross and Mental Health Association. He served for many years as a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Committee on Professional Responsibility.

Mr. Conte was a racquet sports enthusiast. He was especially passionate about tennis, as well as being an avid reader and student of history. Above all, the high point of his life was the love of his entire family.

Surviving are his wife, Marilyn Snode Conte, with whom he celebrated 58 years of marriage November 19, 2013; a daughter, Johanna Conte of Wyoming, Ohio; two sons, Christopher Conte and wife Sabine Barcatta of Logan, Utah, and Jonathan Conte and wife Mary Louise of Loveland, Ohio; six grandchildren, Alexandra and Steven Mieczkowski and Marcus, Cameron, Ethan and Adrian Conte; and two sisters, Jean Bennett of Pittsburgh and Edith Natalini and husband Robert of Belle Vernon.

Deceased, in addition to his parents, are five sisters and two brothers, Frances Conte, Margaret D’Orsogna, Helen Breen, Anne Dougherty, Louise Griffith, John Conte and Armond Conte.

Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday in Frye Funeral Home Inc., 427 West Main Street, Monongahela, where prayers will begin at 9:30 a.m. Friday, December 6, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in St. Damien of Molokai Parish, St. Anthony Church, Monongahela, with the Rev. William Terza, as celebrant. Committal services and interment will follow in Monongahela Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Reach Out and Read, a nonprofit organization committed to preparing America’s children to succeed in school, 56 Roland Street, Suite 100D, Boston, MA 02129, www.reachoutandread.org. Condolences may be made to the family at www.fryefuneralhome.com.