Grant E. Friday, a stockbroker and onetime president of Duquesne Brewery, the maker of Pittsburgh's Duke Beer, found time nearly every day to write a poem to his wife, Harriet, with whom he had eight children.

"He was really the leader of our family,'' said his brother, Dr. Rupert Friday, of Pittsburgh and Tucson, Ariz. "He was my best friend and playmate for 90 years."

Mr. Friday, of Fox Chapel, died Sunday at Forbes Hospice in Oakland. He was 90.

Mr. Friday was born in Pittsburgh on March 26, 1915, to John A. Friday and the former Ann Hermes, who died when he was young. He was educated at Georgetown Preparatory School and then went to Georgetown College in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Friday followed his father into the brewery business. He ran Duquesne, which dated to 1899, with his late brother John after their father's death, and was president of the company in the late 1960s before the family lost control of the business to investors led by Raymond H. Sigesmund. The brewery closed in 1972 after its brands were sold to C. Schmidt & Sons of Philadelphia.

Jack S. Isherwood, a former president and chief executive officer of Duke competitor Pittsburgh Brewing, yesterday remembered Mr. Friday as a tall man with a commanding presence who led the brewery during the "glory days" of both companies.

"Grant was a real gentleman, a real leader,'' Mr. Isherwood said, recalling that the two companies vigorously competed for customers yet cooperated on industry and civic matters. He said Duquesne had an efficient, modern plant for the times.

According to newspaper clippings, the larger Pittsburgh Brewing tried to buy Duquesne in 1965 but the combination was blocked by the U.S. Justice Department, which cited antitrust concerns. A year later, Mr. Sigesmund made a successful stock offering for the company.

Afterwards, Mr. Friday became a stockbroker and retired from Dean Witter Reynolds, now Morgan Stanley, in 1986, family members said.

Outside of work, Mr. Friday was described as a family man who was proud that all of his children were married and reveled in holiday traditions. His family nickname was "Big Bear," reflecting his 6-foot-6¹/₂ inch frame.

"I'm 6-foot-2 and I had a father-in-law to whom I could look up to in every sense,'' said Michael Leahy, who married Mr. Friday's daughter, Harriet. "He had a commanding presence for sure, just an extraordinary, generous and loving person."

Mr. Friday was a recipient of the Roger Latham Award as sportsman of the year from the Pittsburgh Sportsmen Luncheon Club, of which he was a former president.

He spent much time with his brother Rupert breeding bird dogs and hunting and fly fishing, a practice they started as children and continued well into adulthood. They took hunting and fishing trips around the country. He also played golf and was a lifetime master in bridge.

Mr. Friday told his son Grant Jr. that the two moments that stood out in his life were his marriage 66 years ago to his wife and their flight home from their honeymoon in Hawaii in 1939 on a Pan American Clipper, an amphibious airplane that landed underneath the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

In addition to his brother and wife, Mr. Friday is survived by children Joan Ewing, of Mt. Lebanon, Harriet Friday Leahy, of New York City, Grant E. Friday Jr., of Shadyside, Robert S. Friday, of Upper St. Clair, Thomas E. Friday, of Upper St. Clair, Rupert Friday, of Rhode Island, Gregg Friday, of Cheswick, and Geoff Friday, of Harmar; 20 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. today St. Scholastica Church in Aspinwall. Mr. Friday will be buried in Calvary Cemetery.

The family requests memorial contributions to the Little Sisters of the Poor or Catholic Relief Services.