E. Brooks Keffer Jr., 85. lawyer

E. Brooks Keffer Jr., 85, of Wayne, a Philadelphia lawyer and Tredyffrin Township supervisor and zoning board official, died Friday, March 6, of heart disease at Dunwoody Village.

Mr. Keffer joined the law firm of Norris, Lex, Hart & Ross in Philadelphia, which became Hepburn Willcox Hamilton & Putnam. He worked there for 45 years, many of them as managing partner. His specialties were corporate law and trusts and estates.

When the NFL was based in Narberth, he was one of its lawyers. He also represented Episcopal Academy and the Scholler Foundation, which makes grants to area charities.

As a civic volunteer, Mr. Keffer served on the Tredyffrin Township Zoning Hearing Board from 1975 to 1994. From 1997 to 2008 he was a member of the township's Board of Supervisors. He was an active member of the Chester County Republican Party and served as a committeeman from 1974 to 2005.

Born in his parents' house in Overbrook in 1929, he excelled in academics and athletics while attending Episcopal. He played football, basketball, and baseball, and was captain of the 1947 Inter-Ac championship baseball team.

After high school, Mr. Keffer graduated in 1951 from Amherst College. He earned a degree from the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1954.

A devoted Episcopal alumnus, Mr. Keffer was elected a trustee in 1971 and served until his death. In 1992, he was awarded the school's Distinguished Service Award.

"He was a born-and-bred Philadelphian. He didn't like to travel. It was a wonderful life of service," said his wife, Grace Wadsworth Keffer.

A tennis and squash player, he was a member of the Merion Cricket Club and the Union League of Philadelphia. He umpired for the U.S. Tennis Association.

He sang tenor in the Suburban Squires singing group from the mid-1950s through 1970. The group practiced at the Keffer home "much to the delight of his young sons, who used to listen . . . instead of going to bed," his wife said.

In addition to his wife of 53 years, he is survived by sons Ted and Bill; three grandchildren; and a sister.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 14, in the Chapel of St. David's Episcopal Church, 763 S. Valley Forge Rd., Wayne. Burial is private.

Donations may be made to the Esse Quam Videri Fund, Episcopal Academy, 1785 Bishop White Dr., Newtown Square, Pa. 19073.