John S. Alexander Jr. not only left a lasting impression on the steel industry, he also impacted lives.

Alexander, 77, of Prospect died early Sunday morning in his Naples, Fla., winter home.

His son, John S. Alexander III, recalled when they opened a facility in Poland after that country was freed from Soviet rule.

Alexander said opening a plant in that part of the world enabled them to provide jobs to needy people, which was important to his father.

“He changed a lot of people’s lives in a lot of places,” he said.

Alexander Mill Services later sold its overseas operations, which included sites in Greece and Romania, in 2007.

Earlier in the decade, the conglomerate started two new ventures: a sand processing plant in Sebring, Ohio, and steel mill service facility in Hollsopple, Somerset County.

Including the conglomeration’s corporate office in Harmony, Alexander Mill Services Group has 24 employees.

Alexander said his father never retired.

“He was still CEO and owner,” his son said. “His involvement in the company was far from being past tense.”

Alexander said his father conducted business in the old-fashioned, honest way.

“You could trust him with a handshake,” he said. “You never doubted he would do what he said he would do.”

His sister, Megan Alexander, called their father an icon.

“He had a real presence and an unmatched charismatic way of lighting up the room,” she said.

Megan Alexander said her father would be greatly missed.

“His memory will continue to live with the hundreds of lives he touched forever,” she said.

Alexander’s obituary is on Page 11.