Former Mt. Lebanon Resident and Women’s Rights Activist
She died of Covid-19 after a lifetime of social engagement, assisting children and families in the Pittsburgh area and contributing to women’s breaking the glass ceiling in the transportation industry.
Innice M. Alamovich, an unheralded exponent of women’s rights and a pioneering spirit for women throughout the trucking industry and in regional business died on February 7 in Pittsburgh. She was 93. The cause was the coronavirus, which she recently contracted, her son, John-david W. Franklin, said.
Mrs. Alamovich was hired as a payroll clerk in 1949 at Kramer Brothers on Pittsburgh’s North Side Manchester neighborhood and rose to office manager by 1955. She considered herself a moderate — negotiating with union opponents “is not necessarily selling out,” she told students in 1975.
Innice Marie Scarcelli was born on April 20, 1928 in Pittsburgh, PA to Giovanni Scarcelli, a shop foreman, and Vilma (Iannelli) Scarcelli, a housewife. Both Italian immigrants in the North Side neighborhood of Manchester. Dolly, as she was affectionately called throughout her life, attended Allegheny High School, graduating ahead of her class in 1949 to start working.
“She had a business, working instinct from the very beginning, and she graduated ahead of her class because that was just her nature,” said her sister, Dolores Adams. Working at Kramer Brothers trucking company, and then for Lyons Transportation Lines in McKees Rocks, she was an activist member of the Women’s Traffic Club in the 1960s.
In 1950, she married John L. “Jack” Franklin, a musician. They had one son, John-david W. Franklin, of Philadelphia, a real estate developer and investor. Divorced in 1955, she remarried to John S. Alamovich, of Mt. Lebanon in 1966 residing in Pittsburgh’s South Hills until his death in 2017.
When Lyons was sold in 1975 to Sherwin-Williams, she announced her retirement and until her husband’s death provided mentorship and advice to many young professional women throughout the Pittsburgh area. She was a skilled and avid bocce enthusiast, active in the Italian Sons and Daughters of America, and a member of St. Bernard’s parish in Mt. Lebanon. Since 2017, Dolly resided at Holy Family Manor in the North Hills.
Mrs. Alamovich is preceded in death by her parents, her sisters, Emma, Rena, and brother John. Her first husband, Jack Franklin, died in 1980. She is survived by her sister, Dolores Adams, of West View and her son, John-david W. Franklin, his wife, Alexis, and her grandsons, Zachary J. Franklin and Samuel M. Franklin, Esq.
“Aunt Dolly was a marvelous person. Loved and admired by everyone. Generous to the very end. Selfless and spirited,” said her niece, Joy Ann Zuban. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.
“My grandmother,” remarked Zachary Franklin, “attended every event, sports or otherwise. She was an activist in every way: her family, her business, politics, her grandsons. She will be missed.”
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations in Dolly’s name to: Holy Family Manor, 301 Nazareth Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15229.
Laughlin Cremation & Funeral Tributes
www.laughlinfuneralhome.com
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