Joseph L. Garde, 84, pharma executive

Joseph L. Garde, 84, of Blue Bell, a pharmaceutical company executive, died Tuesday, July 23, of heart failure at Abington Health-Lansdale Hospital.

As a young man, Mr. Garde went to work in the family business, West Wholesale Drug Co. on Luzerne Street in Philadelphia. He swept floors, drove trucks, and managed the warehouse before working his way up to president and chief executive in 1966.

Several years later, he merged the firm with Massachusetts Wholesale Drug Co. of Worcester, Mass., and District Wholesale Drug Co. of Washington to form Spectro Industries in Philadelphia.

As president and CEO, he presided over the consolidated firm, which supplied pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter drugs to pharmacies and hospitals. The company also made hospital equipment.

In 1985 he sold the firm to McKesson Corp. in San Francisco, one of the largest wholesale drug companies in the world. He retired in 1988.

Mr. Garde served on the board of directors for the National Wholesale Druggists Association, and in 1979 became its first Jewish board president.

He was on the board of the Drug Service Council and the former Lincoln Bank, as well as a being trustee at Abington Memorial Hospital and the former Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, now University of the Sciences.

Mr. Garde was a longtime member of the Young Presidents' Organization and was respected in the pharmaceutical industry, his family said.

Born and raised in Wynnefield, he graduated from Overbrook High School and attended Ohio State University. He raised a family in Laverock before moving to Blue Bell in the early 1980s.

His son, Timmy, described his father as "a quiet giant."

"When he came into a room, people gravitated to him. He was understated, but he had a major effect on many people," his son said.

In retirement, he enjoyed family life in Delray Beach, Fla., where he moved in the early 1990s. He played golf and tennis, and on his computer.

Surviving, besides his son, are his wife of 61 years, the former Joan Lesse; a daughter, Linda Baron; two grandchildren; and a brother.

Memorial services will be at noon Thursday, July 25, at Congregation Beth Or, 239 Welsh Rd., Maple Glen. Interment will be private.

Contributions may be made to the Joseph L. Garde Scholarship Fund, c/o University of the Sciences, 600 S. 43d St., Philadelphia 19104.

Condolences to the family may be offered at www.levinefuneral.com.