Mechanical engineer Eugene V. Abraham had a hand in the construction of more than 20 power plants across the nation and rose to chief executive’s suite in a 37-year career with the firm of Sargent & Lundy.
Mr. Abraham, 71, died of complications from cancer on Sunday, March 29, in a hospice in Naples, Fla., his winter home of the last 13 years, said his wife, Lina. He was a resident of Chicago’s Edgebrook neighborhood.
Mr. Abraham joined Sargent & Lundy, which is headquartered in Chicago and specializes in power-industry work, in 1960 and became a partner in 1976. He was a manager in the mechanical engineering department and became senior partner, the top job at the company, in 1991.
In the mid-1990s, he oversaw Sargent & Lundy’s transition from a partnership to a limited liability company, which changed his title to chairman and chief executive officer.
He was distinguished both by his engineering abilities and his skill at handling clients, said Bud Wendorf, Sargent & Lundy’s CEO. “He was a hands-on guy who took the time to know and learn and understand our business,” Wendorf said.
Mr. Abraham engineered both nuclear and fossil-fuel power plants. Among the biggest projects he worked on was the Gibson Generating Station, built for Public Service Indiana in the early 1970s and at the time, one of the largest of its type, Wendorf said.
A good listener who wasted no time in getting things done, Mr. Abraham was popular with Sargent & Lundy’s customers, Wendorf said. “They still to this day ask about Gene,” he said.
His door was always open to the firm’s young engineers, and he relished his role as a mentor, Wendorf said.
Mr. Abraham grew up in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood and graduated from DePaul Academy before getting a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He met his wife, an immigrant from the Alsace region of France, at the annual Schwaben picnic put on by a German social group at Riverview Park. The couple married in 1958.
A dedicated U. of I. alumnus throughout his life, Mr. Abraham spent countless hours working with the school’s engineering students in Chicago and Champaign. Also active with professional groups, he was awarded the James N. Landis Medal by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1995 for his accomplishments in the field of power stations.
With his wife, he established a foundation to sponsor students at Chicago’s innovative San Miguel Schools, which work with at-risk students on the South and West Sides.
For many years, Mr. Abraham and his wife plied the waters of Lake Michigan aboard his Pearson 365 sailboat, named Earendil after the mariner in “Lord of the Rings.” They later donated the boat to the Sea Scouts program.
Besides his wife, Mr. Abraham is survived by a son, Eugene R.; a daughter, Patricia Sonnicksen; a brother, Russell; and two granddaughters.
Services were held in Naples, and a memorial service will be held in Chicago on a future date.
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ttjensen@tribune.com
