Thomas Grasso, advocate of Erie Canal preservation and development, dies at 82
Thomas X. Grasso, Sr., the longtime president of the Canal Society of New York State and a key advocate for the preservation and development of the Erie Canal, died June 6.
The cause of death was cancer. He was 82 years old.
Mr. Grasso lived a few miles north of the village of Pittsford, one of the canal villages he never tired of promoting. He was likely the world's foremost Erie Canal expert, and certainly its greatest booster.
He served as president of Inland Waterways International and twice brought the World Canals Conference to Rochester. He led the effort to restore the Port Byron Erie Canal Heritage Park in Cayuga County and wrote many scholarly and popular works on the Erie Canal as well as canals in Europe and elsewhere.
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"When you get out on that canal, you'd never think it's an artificial construct of human kind," Grasso said in 2017. "It's just like it was always here. It's a part of us, and we're proud of it. As we should be."
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Born in Lackawanna, Erie County, Mr. Grasso got a bachelor's degree from the University of Buffalo and a master's degree from Cornell University. He helped found the geosciences department at Monroe Community College and served as its chairman for nearly 30 years.
"One he got the geosciences program started at MCC, it’s done nothing but grow," said Michael Boester, a professor in what is now the chemistry and geosciences department. "It's rare to have such a large geosciences department at the community college level. ... Everyone knows if it hadn’t been for Tom Grasso, none of this would be possible."
Mr. Grasso joined the Canal Society of New York State in 1966 and served more than 40 years as president.
His canal expertise was wide-ranging: geologic, historical, economic and ecological. Increasing recreational usage and appreciation of the canal was a primary concern.
"He was always looking for linkages on how things all fit together, whether it was a type of wine or food or a piece of shale or a canal in Germany," said Craig Williams, current president of the Canal Society and a longtime friend of Mr. Grasso's. "He was really at his best when he was out in the field explaining something to people where they could reach out and touch something."
The Erie Canal was Mr. Grasso's greatest passion, but he was an expert on canals elsewhere as well. He led sightseeing tours along canals in Europe, an experience that informed his ideas about what the Erie Canal could become.
"In Europe, they really use (the canals) for everyday pleasure," his wife, Carola Smith-Grasso, said. "After he started traveling to Europe it gave him much better perspective on what could be done over here."
Mr. Grasso's courtship with his wife, by the way, began at the Coal Tower restaurant on the canal in Pittsford. "The canal is always in there somewhere," she said.
In 2012, Monroe County named a lodge at Greece Canal Park in his honor.
For decades, Mr. Grasso advocated for re-watering the Broad Street aqueduct in downtown Rochester. The city is now taking steps toward such a project.
Mr. Grasso is survived by his wife, two children, two stepchildren and six grandchildren, among others. His funeral will be at 11 a.m. July 6 at the First Unitarian Church of Rochester, 220 S. Winton Road.
Contact staff writer Justin Murphy at jmurphy7@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Thomas Grasso, Erie Canal advocate, dies at 82
