Civic leader ran Fostoria company

4/2/2004

FOSTORIA - Edward G. Gregg, Jr., 59, a former vice president of Roppe Corp. who served as board chairman of the United Way here, died of cancer yesterday at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

Because of his illness, Mr. Gregg several months ago sold Fostoria Pantry, a convenience and state liquor store he owned for about four years, his son, Cory Gregg, said.

Mr. Gregg was an employee about 17 years of Roppe, a manufacturer of commercial flooring. He began in sales and, later, was named vice president of sales - a job that required much business travel, including two trips to China.

"I think he liked talking to people. He just liked people in general," his son said.

Mr. Gregg was a former chairman of the board of the United Way of Fostoria.

"He counsel was sought after. People regarded him as a very solid citizen, a very staunch supporter of the United Way and all the things we stood for," said Dennis Studrawa, the agency's executive director. "He was very much appreciated in our community."

Mr. Gregg was a former board member of the Fostoria Area Chamber of Commerce and was a former member of the Fostoria Kiwanis.

"He was passionate about what he did," his son said. "The things he did he really jumped into full bore. He wanted to be part of everything."

He was a former president of the Fostoria Redman Club when his son played high school football, basketball, and baseball.

Mr. Gregg grew up in Buffalo and was a Marine Corps veteran. His parents moved to Fostoria while he was away, so he settled there as well.

He enjoyed golfing and was a member of the Fostoria Country Club. He and his wife, Marie, liked to baby-sit for their grandchildren.

Surviving are his wife, Marie, whom he married May 17, 1968; son, Cory Gregg; daughter, Jodi Richards; father, Gardiner Gregg; brother, John Gregg; sister, Penny Gregg, and six grandchildren.

The body will be in the Hoening Mortuary, Fostoria, after 2 p.m. Sunday. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday in Wesley United Methodist Church, Fostoria, of which he was a member.

The family suggests tributes to the church or Community Hospice Care.