Former PNC Bank president Sylvan M. “Sy” Holzer died Saturday at age 75.
Holzer, known for his civic leadership and philanthropic work, served as PNC’s president from 1997 until his retirement in late 2016. He worked for the bank for 45 years.
“He spent every waking moment giving back to others,” his son, Brian Holzer, 50, of Louisville, Kentucky, said.
Known for his active presence in the community, Holzer served as chairman of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, and was a member of the board of directors for UPMC Cancer Centers. He was named to the University of Pittsburgh’s Board of Trustees and worked on the executive committee on the board of the Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Brian Holzer said his father took pride in his community, his work and his family.
Sy Holzer’s parents immigrated to the United States after surviving the Holocaust. His mother worked at the Heinz factory and his father worked as a door-to-door salesman to put three kids through school.
Brian Holzer said his father’s success from humble beginnings was possible only because of his “incredible will to succeed.”
The younger Holzer recalled how his dad used to take him to tailgate outside of Steelers games and watch football from “the nosebleed seats” when he was younger. As his father became more successful, “it continued to open more doors,” and eventually, he was friends with the owners of the city’s major sports teams.
“He was just a regular guy. There was no polish,” Brian Holzer said. “People loved him — from the owners to the athletes to the security guards and the parking attendants. He knew everybody’s name, and everybody knew his name.”
Holzer was a “truly selfless man” who enjoyed helping and mentoring others, his son said.
Dr. Stanley Marks, chairman of UPMC Hillman, cherished Holzer as a lifelong friend.
The pair met on a school bus at age 5, on their way to Hillel Academy, where they went to school together for several years. Marks reminisced with a laugh that Holzer was a “tough guy” as a kid and got kicked out of the school around the fourth grade.
But the pair remained close friends, Marks said, and would eventually work together at the Hillman Cancer Center council, where Holzer worked as an advocate and helped raise about $200 million for the cancer center.
Holzer grew up in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood.
He came from a “poor background,” Marks said, and launched his career with a low-level banking position.
“And he just continued to grow in his career and become more successful — but he never forgot his roots,” Marks said.
“He always wanted to help people. Whether it was getting a job or an interview or just advice, he was always lending a hand, particularly to the people who needed it most,” Marks said. “He was just a genuinely caring, compassionate person. He had a gruff side to him, and he was quite humorous and sarcastic at times, but underneath it all, he was a beautiful person. He loved his family, he loved his friends and he loved his community.”
Holzer was instrumental in getting PNC Park opened as part of the PNC team involved in establishing the home of the Pirates, Marks said.
“Sy Holzer was a true Pittsburgh original, and an upbeat ambassador who enthusiastically promoted the city he loved,” Duquesne University President Ken Gormley said in a statement. “He was proud of growing up on the scrappy streets of Greenfield, of modest means.”
Gormley recalled that Holzer liked to tell the story of how a Spiritan priest at Duquesne paid his college tuition after his father fell ill and his family had no income to pay for him to finish his degree.
He later earned degrees from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University and the University of Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business — Management Program for Executives. He received a doctorate of humanities degree from Bethany College.
“Sy became a near-celebrity in Pittsburgh, as he rose in the ranks at PNC,” Gormley said. “But he always looked for ways to help young people whom he met along the way, especially those from working-class backgrounds whom he felt deserved a shot.”
Gormley remembered Holzer as a “great story-teller” and an “ever-present figure at baseball ballgames, hockey games, parades and events celebrating the exciting moments of the city he loved.”
“Every friend of Sy Holzer felt energized and special; and every friend of Sy Holzer now feels a terrible sense of loss with his passing,” Gormley said.
Holzer also was a board member at Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation and also held positions at Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Gives, Bethany College, Mentoring Partnership and UPMC.
He received a plethora of local honors for his community leadership over the years.
In 2017, he was honored with the Chairman’s Award at the American Ireland Fund Gala. Gala chair David Malone then said Holzer’s most important quality was “his fierce loyalty to friends, family and clients and his remarkable ability to be happy when others around him succeed.”
Brian Holzer said the whole family had been visiting with his father in the days before his death on Father’s Day morning. Holzer had had some health issues, but his death was unexpected, his son said.
He went to bed in his Upper St. Clair home Friday night and died in his sleep.
“He was just so happy,” he said. “There’s a lot everyone can learn from how he lived his life.”
Holzer is survived by his wife Cathy, two children — Brian Holzer and Jodie Shaw — and five grandchildren.
