Jun 28, 2016 2 min read

YORK – Louis J. Appell Jr., the former chief executive of Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff, a fifth-generation family-owned dishware business whose place settings were a staple of wedding registries for decades, died. He was 92.

Appell died Monday at his home, Kuhner Associates Funeral Directors said. No other details were immediately provided.

Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff was the oldest continually operating pottery manufacturer in the United States. The popular dishware division was sold to Lifetime Brands Inc., and the factory closed a decade ago.

The family also owned Susquehanna Media Co., consisting of 33 radio stations, cable television systems in six states, an internet service provider and an e-business provider. The radio stations were sold a decade ago to Cumulus Media Inc., and Comcast purchased the cable TV and broadband businesses.

In announcing in 2005 what he called a difficult decision to sell off the company’s assets, Appell said the step was prompted in part by the absence of any younger family member prepared to lead the company.

Appell was also a prominent civic leader and philanthropist in York, supporting downtown improvements, the arts community and the minor league baseball team.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday the community had lost “a true giant.

“Louis was a very good human being who cared deeply about his community and its citizens, all of whom he considered his neighbors,” Wolf wrote. “He was generous in his concern and he was generous in the many contributions he made to the community he loved.”