L. Eugene Thorpe, safety director for Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., died Friday of cancer at his home in Essex, where he had lived since the 1960s. He was 63.

Services for Mr. Thorpe were being held today at the Duda-Ruck Funeral Home of Dundalk, 7922 Wise Avenue.

For the last 14 years Mr. Thorpe, a native of East Orange, N.J., was employed by Whiting-Turner. He had worked in the fields of safety, health and compensation policies for his three previous employers: Associated Builders and Contractors, Schenuit Rubber Co. and Bethlehem Steel Corporation.

Mr. Thorpe is survived by his wife of 28 years, the former Alice Priscilla McDaniel; a son, Joseph H. Thorpe II of Essex; a daughter, Rhonda Lynn Thorpe, also of Essex; a brother, Jay S. Thorpe of Baltimore; and a granddaughter.