Anthony B. LaConti
9/15/11
Anthony B. LaConti died Sept. 5.

Born in the Boston Salvation Army Hospital on April 4,1936, he was the only child of Italian immigrants Samuel and Maria LaConti.

He was chief executive officer of Giner Inc., a leading research organization in electrochemical technologies. An inventor, he held 57 U.S. patents that covered multiple aspects of electrochemistry.

Mr. LaConti grew up in Revere with his parents, who worked at the local greenhouse while he attended the Revere public schools and played sports with the boys from the neighborhood.

He entered the workforce as a teenager when his father suffered a serious stroke. As primary breadwinner and caretaker, Mr. LaConti assumed all responsibility for his own education. He stacked fruit at Stop & Shop, shoveled “silver gold” at Suffolk Downs, and took orders from customers at the Scully Square liquor store.

His skill in basketball and baseball helped further his education. In 1954, he received a four-year athletic scholarship from Suffolk University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry and mathematics in 1958. He later earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in chemistry from Boston College in 1960 and 1965.

He charted a career of achievement and industry leadership. During his early years at General Electric, he was instrumental in the development of fuel cells for the Apollo and Gemini programs, the oxygen generating systems for the Navy’s submarines, and twice received the Aerospace Instrument Department’s “Engineer of the Year” award.

In 1986, he joined Giner, where he applied his expertise to sensors, capacitors, and direct methanol fuel cells while continuing his contributions to hydrogen fuel cells and water electrolyzers. A noted published researcher, he led Giner’s growth as a leading research organization in electrochemical technologies.

Mr. LaConti was one of the founders of Giner Electrochemical Systems LLC, a partnership with General Motors that accelerated the development of automotive fuel cells to reduce emissions.

Dr. LaConti was a longtime resident of Lynnfield, where he coached his children’s sports teams and was active in Couples Club. His fondest memories were those spent with his family.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Brenda (Prive) LaConti; his children, Cara Paicos and her husband, Peter, Jennifer White, of Milton, and her husband, Bill, and Christopher LaConti and his wife, Regina; and his grandchildren, Cassandra DeSimone, Anthony DeSimone, Dominic DeSimone, Fay Paicos, Eve Paicos, Brendan White and Madeleine White.

A funeral Mass was celebrated in St. Maria Goretti Church, Lynnfield, on Sept. 9. Burial was in Forest Hill Cemetery, Lynnfield.

Donations may be made to the Anthony B. LaConti Science Scholarship Fund, Attention: Jane DiGani, Office of Advancement, Suffolk University, 8 Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108.