Lansdowne resident Philip E. Martelli – the father of Saint Joseph’s University basketball coach Phil Martelli and his sister, Marianne Martelli, the Senior Vice President of the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry – has died at 87, writes Mike Jensen for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The elder Martelli, a Bartram High graduate and Air Force veteran, worked at DuPont as a chemist assistant in Grays Ferry for more than four decades and only missed one day of work.

After retiring, Martelli, also known as “Pops” on Hawk Hill, was always there for the practices and games of his son’s team. Also, until recently, Martelli often traveled to away games.

“My father retired from DuPont the day I got the head coaching job at St. Joe’s,” said Phil, who used to measure his players by “how they interacted with my father, and how they interacted with little kids.”

Marianne has worked at the CCCBI since 2007.

Read more about Philip Martelli in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.