Businessman, mentor recalled
Raymond Lassinger golfed in the morning, mowed The Mansion's lawn in the afternoon and worked in blue jeans with his employees on the floor in between.
“He never let anything hold him back,” Patti-Ann Kanterman recalled fondly about her father.
The 80-year-old CEO of Associated Ceramics & Technology in Sarver and former owner of The Mansion event venue in Butler died early Monday at ACMH Hospital following an illness.
Like so many, Kanterman — CFO of Associated Ceramics — describes her dad as family and business oriented. He was known throughout the community as a dedicated businessman, devoted dad and determined fundraiser.
Longtime friend John Stilley, owner of Amerikohl Mining Inc., also recalled Lassinger's great sense of humor. He laughed about the day Lassinger was dressed in shorts and mowing the expanse of lawn of The Mansion with an old lawn mower when a person drove up the long, winding driveway and asked Lassinger if he knew where to find the owner.
“ 'I think the guy is up the driveway,'” Stilley said, chuckling at his friend's response to the driver's inquiry.
Kanterman and Stilley were among friends and family who shared their stories about Lassinger's life, business and commitment to community.
“That's the kind of guy he was,” Stilley said of Lassinger's dedication. “The kind of guy that did everything as best he could.”
Another longtime friend, David Todd of Penn Township, said one word that described Lassinger's unique character also became his nickname: Rambo.
“Once he made his mind up, he very rarely changed his mind,” Todd said, adding it was that very mindset that helped Lassinger's business thrive. “He was a self-made business man who started with nothing and built his company to be very successful.”
In 1966, Lassinger was a founding partner and chartered his family business — Associated Ceramics — which currently has 46 employees and manufactures and supplies technical ceramic materials and components used across various industries for heat and electrical insulation, wear-resistance, chemical and industrial applications.
<b>Leap of faith, lifelong mentor</b>Stilley, who started Amerikohl Mining Inc. in 1978, credits Lassinger's support and guidance as crucial to his success.“It was a leap of faith for him to support me in that way,” Stilley said of how Lassinger persuaded the board of Valley National Bank in Freeport to provide him the initial funding to get his business going.Despite attending Freeport High School with Lassinger's younger brother, Stilley said the two did not become friends until later in life when he met him at the bank.“Ray never had a bad word to say about anyone and was always positive about every single day in life — always — in all things and all times,” Stilley said, adding how his mentor expressed a sincere interest in what and how a person was doing and treated everyone special.“I aspire to be more like him every day,” he said. “I'll miss him terribly.”An avid golfer, Lassinger was a Butler Country Club member since 1972. He belonged to several golf courses in Florida, as well as the Jupiter Country Club, sponsoring golf tournaments and multiple professional golfers.Todd met Lassinger on the golf course, where they became close friends over the 40 years they golfed together.“You learn as you get older what's important is not the golf course, but the relationships you have with the people you play with,” said Todd, who retired from Butler Armco more than 20 years ago as president of the advanced materials division. “I was very close to him and am certainly going to miss him.”<b>Valuable vision, philanthropic heart</b>Keith Frndak, CEO of Concordia Lutheran Ministries in Cabot, also points to Lassinger's keen insight as a businessman and his giving spirit as a community leader.“Ray was a great entrepreneur,” Frndak said.Frndak, who has been with Concordia Lutheran Ministries for about 37 years, said the organization was touched twice by Lassinger's generosity.He said that about 10 years ago, Lassinger made an extremely generous reduction in the sales price for Concordia to acquire Saxony Farm in Saxonburg, which he owned from 1997 to 2007. The equity was considerable and is one of Concordia's largest gifts, Frndak said.Then again in 2017, when Concordia Lutheran Ministries purchased The Mansion from Lassinger, who ran the business from 1988 to 2017, the business owner donated a significant amount to Concordia following the sale. For Frndak, Lassinger understood a person's vision and imagined the future his gifts would impact. He also considered him an important community member who had a practical level of wisdom and was always quick to offer thought-provoking conversation.“He was a can-do person. When he set his sights on accomplishing something you needed to stand back because it was going to happen,” Frndak said. “He worked his way up from the bottom and had a practical wisdom on a lot of topics he was always willing to share.”Lassinger was also a very active and engaged community leader who served on the boards of the Butler AAA and Valley National Bank.Todd, a trustee of the Butler County Family YMCA board of directors, said he could always count on Lassinger's generous nature — especially when it came to the organization's Strong Kids campaign that gives scholarships and helps kids who cannot afford membership.He was also active and raised funds for the Butler County Republican Committee.
<b>Dedicated dad, role model</b>Lassinger married the love of his life and wife of nearly 60 years, Peggy, on Feb. 15, 1958. She passed away in 2016.The couple raised their six children in Saxonburg.Lassinger was the driving force behind Associated Ceramics and thought of his employees as an extended family, Kanterman said. The lesson remains with Kanterman to this day, adding how to her and her siblings, employees are not strangers, but more like family.Their father and mother also passed on a strong work ethic to their children.“He was a big believer in his children learning to work at a young age,” she said. Kanterman went on to explain how she and her siblings worked at the family business from the time they were 12 years old.Lassinger later helped his oldest sons establish a ceramics business of their own in Texas in 1981, which is still in business today.“Having my three brothers and me working with him made him happy,” she said. “He was very proud of all of us.”In addition to his serious side, Lassinger had a colorful personality — even donning a sailor hat when his daughter Renee was awarded Homecoming queen, or the time he wore a 10-gallon cowboy hat when he met George H. Bush in 1982.Daughter Kimberly Boros, of Saxonburg, said one of her father's favorite roles was being a grandfather to his 15 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.“While he was tough as nails as a father — you have to do that with six kids — his grandchildren think he was one of the most entertaining guys they've run into,” Boros said. “All the things he taught us, he taught them with humor.”Lassinger was diagnosed with a heart condition in 1991, according to Kanterman. She said memorial donations may be made to the Mayo Clinic Foundation or the Strong Kids campaign at the Butler Family YMCA, which were two of her dad's biggest passions.What Todd will remember most is how Lassinger fought his illness during his last two years.“He was a real fighter right down to the end and had a good attitude about it,” he said. “He did far more than I'll ever be able to do or see another individual with that kind of fight and determination do.”
