Mr. Gentile held a variety of sales management positions with various companies in the wholesale steel industry before retiring in 1985.
In 1949, he graduated magna cum laude from Rutgers University, Newark, NJ., with a degree in busi ness administration He was a founding member of the university's Georgian Society, the first non sectarian fraternity.
Mr. Gentile was a member of the Army Specialized Training Program during World War II.
He served as chairman of the Watchung Recreation Commission, Watchung, N.J., and helped to create the Watchung Little League program. He was a founding member of the Watchung Optimist Club, and served as the club's president in 1965. He was named New Jersey Man of the Year by the Optimist Club in 1992.
Born in Hartford, Conn., Mr. Gentile lived in Summit, N.J., Watchung, N.J., and Smithville, N.J., before moving to San Diego In 2001. Surviving are his wife, Catherine; a daughter, Susan Work; a son, Ralph, and a sister, Dorothy Dougherty