Perry S. Bechtle, lawyer and WWII veteran

Perry S. Bechtle was a belly gunner on a B-17 bomber flying over the Adriatic Sea in April 1945 when an engine exploded.

He "lost much of the hearing in one ear as a result of the explosion," said a daughter, Marianne. "The engine caught on fire, and the crew parachuted into the sea.

"All but one crew member survived after spending over 24 hours waiting for rescue," she said. Mr. Bechtle, who suffered a broken leg in the incident, "was the last surviving crew member."

On Sunday, May 9, Mr. Bechtle, 84, a former Philadelphia lawyer and teacher of law, died at Seaside at Atlantic Shore, a nursing home in Virginia Beach, Va., after a stroke. Before moving to Virginia Beach nine years ago, he lived in Haverford.

He was president of the International Society of Barristers in 1990 and a member of its board of governors from 1984 to 1991.

Mr. Bechtle was a brother of Louis C. Bechtle, former chief judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia.

Mr. Bechtle grew up in Germantown, graduated from Germantown High School in 1944, and attended what is now St. Joseph's University. After two years, he qualified for early admission to Temple University Law School, where he graduated second in his class in 1951, his daughter said.

After working as staff counsel for Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., he worked for several Philadelphia law firms, including Pepper, Hamilton & Scheetz, and Krusen, Evans & Byrne.

In the late 1970s, he was senior vice president and general counsel for General Accident Insurance Co.

He wound up his legal career as an arbitrator and mediator, his daughter said.

On the adjunct faculty at Villanova University School of Law, Mr. Bechtle taught trial practice, and on the Temple law adjunct faculty, he taught federal evidence courses in the program leading to a master's degree in litigation. He also lectured for several legal organizations.

In 1994, the School District of Philadelphia gave him its Leon J. Obermayer Award, for a distinguished graduate of its high schools. In 2006, the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel gave him its distinguished service award.

Besides his brother and daughter, Mr. Bechtle is survived by his wife, Mary; sons Leigh, Geoffrey, Christopher, Perry S. Jr., and Thaddeus; another daughter, Nina Small; and 15 grandchildren.

A Funeral Mass was set for 12:30 p.m. Thursday, May 20, at Star of the Sea Church, 1404 Pacific Ave., Virginia Beach, with burial in the church cemetery.

A Philadelphia memorial was set for 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 23, at the Union League of Philadelphia, 140 S. Broad St.