Jonathan Plesset remembers missing school when he was 12 to go to a ceremony honoring his grandfather — entrepreneur and philanthropist Joseph M. Katz — at the University of Pittsburgh.

At the time, Mr. Plesset didn’t understand the full significance of the ceremony, which was attended by Katz, university officials, city leaders, and even businessman and politician Ross Perot.

Roughly four decades later, Mr. Plesset said he better understands his late grandfather as a fellow businessman.

“Through my 12-year-old eyes, he was larger than life, and I was immensely impressed by him,” said Mr. Plesset, who runs Shadyside At Home Apartments and is the co-founder of Pittsburgh-based non-profit No Dog Left Behind.

“Today, I’m just as impressed with Joe Katz, but I see him through the lens of a

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