Gregory Weyerhaeuser Piasecki, 52, of Hanover, New Hampshire, entrepreneur, business leader, and father of three, died on Saturday, August 5, 2023 of sudden cardiac death, shortly after a morning row on the Connecticut River in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Gregory grew up in Haverford, PA, the youngest of seven children born in 1970 to helicopter pioneer Frank Piasecki and civic leader Vivian Weyerhaeuser Piasecki. Greg lived with a keen sense of responsibility to the world, guided by the importance of family, a strong work ethic, and a uniquely vivid imagination.

A scholar athlete, Greg excelled at The Haverford School, concurrently serving as student government President and captain of the crew team during his senior year. He majored in Bioengineering at Yale University '92 and was a member of Yale's Varsity crew team.  Following Yale, he received his MBA from the Wharton School of Business '97 and then joined Morgan Stanley.  With characteristic entrepreneurial energy and foresight, Greg co-founded Pacific Solutions Group in 2000, a boutique investment bank in China. Despite the internet bubble burst and SARS, he persisted, closing deals with high growth Chinese companies and initiating fund proposals with state-owned entities.

Greg maintained a life-long commitment to family enterprises, using his bold and visionary instincts to shape a diverse set of institutions. He was an early pioneer in unmanned aerial vehicles, joining his brother Michael at Dragonfly Pictures, Inc. from 2004 to 2013. Later he served on the board of Piasecki Aircraft Corporation.  From 2013 until 2021, he served as CEO of the Rock Island Company, a family investment holding company, whose mission was to maintain family unity.

Throughout his entire career, Greg's business acumen was grounded in a unique leadership style, unifying people of all ages, and cultures with his enthusiasm, imagination and positivity.  Always a committed teammate, Greg rowed for the United States in the 2011 and 2013 Dragon Boat World Championships, earning silver and gold medals for his country.

Greg moved to Hanover, NH in 2013, to raise a family. A newcomer to the region, Greg embraced the community and its natural surroundings as an avid hiker, hunter, camper, skier, woodworker, rower, and pilot.  He volunteered as a Nordic ski coach and rowed for the Upper Valley Rowing Club.  He was Treasurer and a member of the Upper Valley Land Trust Board of Trustees and served on the school Equity Committee, where his earnest curiosity and discipline contributed to the development of a district-wide equity policy.  Always looking beyond the horizon, Greg had recently qualified as an instrument-rated private pilot and was working towards a commercial rating.

Loved by his friends and family for his sensitive, rock-solid loyalty, Greg valued deep connections, and understood that behind the challenges in life there is always room for growth. His spirited nature and attention to the 'details of relationship'—both civic and personal—initiated opportunities for people from all walks of life to feel 'seen and heard'.

Above all, Greg was a deeply thoughtful and loving father to his three children, providing them with an enlightened sense of wit, love, and kindness that often transcended the ups and downs of normal life.  Steadfast and generous, Greg raised his children with an extraordinarily creative zest for life. He was full of brilliant ideas for the 'next great adventure'. When one project was completed, another was sure to follow.

Gregory is survived by: his six older siblings Lynn, Nicole, Frederick, Frank, Michael and John; his former wife Teresa Fort; and his three children, Cornelia (10), Jack (8), and Nicole (8).

On Friday, August 11th, an 11am viewing will be followed by an 11:30am Memorial Mass at St. Denis church in Hanover, NH.  A reception will follow at the Dartmouth Skiway in Lyme, NH.

Relatives and friends are invited on Saturday, August 26th, to an 11 AM Funeral Mass at St John Neumann Church, 380 Highland Lane, Bryn Mawr, PA  followed by his burial at Calvary Cemetery in West Conshohocken, PA.

For those unable to attend the Funeral Mass it will be livestreamed from the St. John Neumann Parish website at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkd2B8McNVQ

The livestream will be active 5 minutes before the time of the scheduled mass.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to one of the following organizations in memory of Greg:

World Bicycle Relief 1000 West Fulton Market, 4th Floor, Chicago, IL 60607.  Donate online:  www.worldbicyclerelief.org

Upper Valley Land Trust 19 Buck Road, Hanover, NH 03755.  Donate online: www.uvlt.org

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Obituary by Gary Miles, Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer on August 18, 2023


Gregory W. Piasecki, innovative entrepreneur, business leader, and champion dragon boat paddler, has died at 52
He had a knack for setting business trends and forging connections between people. "I will always think of him as constantly seeking to learn and improve himself and all those around him," a friend said.

Mr. Piasecki's family said he was "curious, steadfast, and generous" and noted his "sensitive, rock-solid loyalty."

Gregory W. Piasecki, 52, formerly of Haverford, creative entrepreneur, business leader, conservationist, and world champion dragon boat paddler, died Saturday, Aug. 5, of cardiac arrest in Hanover, N.H. Mr. Piasecki had just finished a rowing workout and was stricken near the Connecticut River.

The youngest of seven children, Mr. Piasecki was teased as "Tail-end Charlie" by his wiseguy siblings. In fact, he generally finished at the front of the pack in whatever he did.

He co-founded and was a top executive of a pioneering investment bank in China in the early 2000s. He served for a decade as an innovative top officer for Essington-based Dragonfly Pictures, his brother Michael's firm that designs, manufactures, and markets unmanned vertical take-off and landing air vehicles.

He successfully oversaw his family's investment holding companies for eight years and served on the board of Piasecki Aircraft Corp., the company his father founded in 1955. In a tribute, his family said his business acumen "was grounded in a unique leadership style, unifying people of all ages and cultures with his enthusiasm, imagination, and positivity."

Former business colleague Sarah Weyerhaeuser praised Mr. Piasecki's "optimism, enthusiasm, and perseverance." Another former colleague, Melissa Davis, said: "Young people say that he was a mentor to them, but that he also treated them as equals."

His sister, Lynn Cunningham, said: "He thought out of the box like our father and had a sense of grace like our mother."

Mr. Piasecki won gold and silver medals as a member of a U.S. men's team that paddled at the 2013 and 2011 Dragon Boat World Championships. At this year's world championships in Thailand in early August, a U.S. team dedicated its race to Mr. Piasecki. It won the gold medal, and one of its paddlers said on Facebook: "We had all done it for Greg."

U.S. Rowing is expected to name a boat in Mr. Piasecki's honor at September's world rowing championships in Belgrade, Serbia. "He had a lot of fans in the world," one of his former coaches said.

Gregory Weyerhaeuser Piasecki was born to Frank and Vivian Piasecki in Wynnewood on Oct. 27, 1970. He grew up in Haverford and graduated from Haverford School in 1988. He rowed on the crew team at Yale University and earned a bachelor's degree in bioengineering in 1992.

He received a master's degree in business administration from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in 1997 and worked at Morgan Stanley financial services company in New York. He helped establish Pacific Solutions Group in China in 2000 and worked with his brother at Dragonfly Pictures from 2003 to 2013.

He married Teresa Fort in 2009, and they had daughters Cornelia and Nicole, and son Jack, and lived in Hanover, N.H. They divorced later.

Mr. Piasecki sat on Hanover's Upper Valley Land Trust board of trustees and the local school district's equity committee. He became certified as a private pilot, joined the Upper Valley Rowing Club, and volunteered as a Nordic ski coach.

He liked to bicycle, hike, hunt, sail, and camp, and he built a tree house for his nieces and nephews, and a boat and chicken coop for his children. He enjoyed photography and was so complete a woodworker that he often cut down his own trees, milled them, and created mementos and furniture for relatives and friends.

"He had a joy in jumping headfirst into life's activities I really admire so much," friend James Gowen said. In its tribute, his family said he had "an enlightened sense of wit, love, and kindness that often transcended the ups and downs of normal life."

His profile on X, formerly known as Twitter, is "patriot, pilot, parent." His brother Frank said: "He was a humanist. He was interested in people at an individual level. He was a student of relationships between human beings."

In addition to his children, two sisters, four brothers, and former wife, Mr. Piasecki is survived by other relatives.

A Funeral Mass is to be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, at St. John Neumann Parish Church, 380 Highland Lane, Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010.

Donations in his name may be made to Upper Valley Land Trust, 19 Buck Rd., Hanover, N.H. 03755; and World Bicycle Relief, 1000 W. Fulton Market, 4th Floor, Chicago, Ill. 60607.

Published Aug. 18, 2023
by Gary Miles