David C. Geliebter, 79, Quaker activist

Phillip Geliebter, an Abington police detective, recalled that his father, David, "consistently lived his faith" as a Quaker.

"When he was arrested for civil disobedience on the first day of the second Gulf War at the federal building in Philadelphia, that was a matter of faith," Phillip Geliebter said in a phone interview.

Later, his father worked on a Quaker committee dealing with problems faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender teenagers, his son said, because "he continued to have an interest in making sure that everybody was treated equally and fairly."

David C. Geliebter, 79, of Philadelphia, deputy director of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights from 1969 to 1971, died Friday, March 16, of complications from heart surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

In later years, he was a fund-raiser for Pennsylvania nonprofit organizations.

From 1984 to 1993, he was an assistant director of development at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

And until 1996 he was vice president for development for what is now Valley Forge Educational Services, which among other efforts manages Vanguard School, a private special-education school in Malvern teaching kindergarten through 12th grade.

But Mr. Geliebter drew media attention for his volunteer work with the poor and his struggle to become healthy.

Steve Lopez, then an Inquirer columnist, wrote in 1989 about Mr. Geliebter's volunteer work with the Women of Hope Shelter in Center City, run by Sister Mary Scullion.

"Three years ago, he decided that reading about poverty and homelessness wasn't enough," Lopez wrote. "He called Mary Scullion at the shelter and volunteered to cook Thanksgiving dinner."

So began Mr. Geliebter's volunteering there.

"The shelter - a haven for homeless and mentally ill women - is a place where loose ends come together in an eloquent commentary on the human spirit," Lopez wrote. "Geliebter has made good friends there."

Health columnist Art Carey wrote in 1999 that, the year before, Mr. Geliebter had spent hours in the emergency room at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

"The Grim Reaper had pulled his card," Carey wrote, "and the words read, 'congestive heart failure.' "

The point of the column was that Mr. Geliebter had gone from 231 pounds in the hospital visit to 155 pounds as he prepared for a fund-raising event.

Carey wrote later in 1999 that Mr. Geliebter, then 67, had completed the event's 5-kilometer walk in less than his goal of an hour, finishing ahead of his wife and grandchildren.

"It was the first time in my life," Mr. Geliebter told Carey, "that I've ever felt really good about doing something physical or athletic."

Born in Manhattan, Mr. Geliebter graduated from Erasmus High School in Brooklyn in 1950 and attended the University of New Mexico.Before taking a leave for the New Jersey civil rights work, Mr. Geliebter was an assistant managing editor for Grolier Inc., the Manhattan publishing firm, starting in 1966.

His salaried activism continued from 1972 to 1974 as director of education for a Manhattan local of the Knitgoods Workers Union.

Mr. Geliebter came to Philadelphia to become director of community relations and special projects for Colonial Penn Group, the insurance firm, from 1974 to 1981.

In 1979, the American Management Association published two works of which he was coauthor, Action Guide for Managers and Personnel Staff and How to Audit Your EEO Compliance, referring to equal employment opportunities.

Besides serving from 2003 to 2009 as a board member for the Friends General Conference in Philadelphia, his son said, he was also a board member for the Philadelphia Urban Coalition, Women's Way, and Pendle Hill, the Quaker study center in Wallingford, Delaware County.

Besides his son Phillip, Mr. Geliebter is survived by his wife, Mignon Adams; a son John; a stepson, Ben Adams; a stepdaughter, Mindy Bartscherer; four grandchildren; an adopted grandson; four step-grandchildren; and his former wife, Joan Lincoln.

A memorial service was set for 2 p.m. Saturday, April 14, at the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, 1515 Arch St.