Every few minutes, Fred Decosimo — the second child of towering Chattanooga businessman Joe Decosimo — shot out of his seat to greet a family friend with an outstretched hand.
Dozens of well-wishers buzzed around the Mountain City Club on Wednesday to celebrate Joe Decosimo’s 100th birthday. Born May 28, 1925, in Clairton, Pennsylvania, Decosimo started one of the largest accounting firms in Tennessee, and officials said he placed an indelible stamp on local civic community through his service on multiple boards and in different organizations.
“I’m looking at all these folks that Dad was involved in, that our firm was involved in over the years,” Fred Decosimo said in an interview, peering at the crowd of people near the entrance. “Our growth was a complement to our clients. We were very fortunate.”
A few days earlier, he said, the family hosted about 90 direct descendants for a Sunday birthday party for his father, a tally that includes nine children, 26 grandchildren and approximately 50 great-grandchildren.
Chattanooga businessman Joe Decosimo turns 100
On Wednesday, a rotating gallery of some of the most powerful businesspeople and politicians in the Chattanooga area took turns addressing Decosimo as another son, Tom Decosimo, passed a microphone around the crowded dining room. Joe Decosimo beamed as he turned his attention to each of his guests.