Aug 31, 2010 By Carla Destefano 4 min read

The office. The classroom. The sports field. At home. No matter where Rich Constantine was, he profoundly touched the lives of those around him.

The Uniontown man’s dedication to students, athletes, colleagues, family and friends was one of selflessness, said his wife and friends, adding that the values he lived by were the values he expected in return. And even until the very end, the longtime Uniontown Area School District administrator was readying the fall sports teams for play.

Constantine, 63, who held many positions during his nearly 40-year career with the district, lost his battle with cancer on Sunday.

“My husband lived by the belief that you don’t just worry about making a living. You take the time to make a life,” said Marcia Constantine, who was married to her husband for 39 years.

Born in Brownsville, Constantine was a star on the football field for Uniontown High School. He also excelled in wrestling, finishing second in the state championships in 1965.

He then attended the University of Virginia on a full athletic scholarship and after graduation in 1969, he returned to Uniontown High School as a social studies teacher.

“I am one of the very few individuals who can say I’ve known someone as a teacher, a coach and a colleague,” said Dr. Charles Machesky, superintendent of UASD, who was a junior in the district when Constantine was teaching and coaching.

Constantine earned his master’s degree from West Virginia University and later obtained his principal’s papers. He was the principal at the high school for 19 years before becoming an assistant to the superintendent under Machesky for four years until his retirement. He came out of retirement to serve as the school’s administrative athletic director until his passing.

“Generations of students at Uniontown were very fortunate to have Rich share his academic and athletic skills with them,” Machesky said. “He was a great human being. He was humble. He never wanted recognition. He just wanted to do his job and he did it admirably and meticulously.”

John Fortugna, the head football coach at Uniontown, remembers growing up idolizing Constantine, who was a member of the “Big 33,” an all-star state football team comprised of high school seniors.

“He showed me the ropes. He was always there for me,” said Fortugna, who was coached by Constantine in high school and later shared athletic duties with him. “His whole family had a great work ethic, and he brought that to us in Uniontown.”

Fortugna, who is also the in-school discipline coordinator at Uniontown, said it will be tough to go on without Constantine’s guidance, but he said he will try to continue providing to others the lessons learned from a great teacher.

“He set the stage for my academic career. He helped me mature as a teacher and as a coach,” Fortugna said. “He was completely responsible for that. But I have to go on sharing what he taught me.”

Constantine also was also president of the WPIAL, chairman of PIAA District VII, and a member of the PIAA’s board of directors.

“It was never about Rich. It was always about what Rich could do for others,” said Tim O’Malley, executive director of WPIAL. “Rich was one of the good men put on this planet. He was tremendously dedicated and will be sorely missed.”

In addition to his wife, Constantine is survived by a son, Dr. Richard Constantine, a dentist who lives in South Carolina with his wife, Trisha.

He was diagnosed in April 2009 with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. By December of that year, the cancer had mutated to Burkitt’s Lymphoma, said his wife, explaining that the new diagnosis was an aggressive form of cancer.

“He really fought the cancer,” said Marcia Constantine, who noted that even while receiving treatments her husband would make phone calls and schedule referees. “He loved the outdoors and golf was his passion. That was his only vice.”

Marcia said her husband also loved music, theater and reading.

“But his family was always of the utmost importance,” she said. “He took time to make a life.”

Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Dolfi Funeral Home. For details see Constantine’s obituary on page B-3.