Howard H. Lewis, 81, lawyer and philanthropist who loved history
Howard H. Lewis, 81, of Devon, a Philadelphia lawyer and philanthropist, died Thursday, July 28, of respiratory failure at Bryn Mawr Hospital.
Howard H. Lewis, 81, of Devon, a Philadelphia lawyer and philanthropist, died Thursday, July 28, of respiratory failure at Bryn Mawr Hospital.
Mr. Lewis was senior counsel at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads L.L.P., with an emphasis on corporate law, trusts and estates, and real estate transactions.
Before Montgomery McCracken, Mr. Lewis was chair of the corporate law department at what is now Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel L.L.P.
Early in his career, he was lead counsel when the Reading Co. declared bankruptcy in 1976. The company had operated a major rail network in Southeastern Pennsylvania and nearby states.
Its operations were merged by government regulators with five other bankrupt railroads to form Conrail in 1976. During a five-year court battle against federal litigators, Mr. Lewis pushed for a resolution favorable to the Reading.
The case was ultimately settled in 1981 for $186 million - three times the original offer from the government.
Mr. Lewis became known as "a champion defender of both the railroad industry and its assets," according to the flyleaf from his book, Derailed by Bankruptcy: Life After the Reading Railroad, published in January by Indiana University Press.
Ironically, Mr. Lewis didn't even like railroads, but he did like history and read it extensively.
He took an active public role with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia History Museum. He was first elected to the historical society's board of directors in 1969, and served as recording secretary from 1970 to 1986, board president from 1987 to 1989, and board chair from 1993 to 1999.
In the mid- to late-1990s, Mr. Lewis helped the society update its facilities at 1300 Locust St. and identify the Philadelphia History Museum as a suitable recipient of the society's art and artifact collection. He also arranged for the society to acquire the records of the Mutual Assurance Co., a fire insurance company founded in Philadelphia in 1784.
"Most recently he had funded the Lewis Processing Project, moving us closer to his goal of having every manuscript collection fully processed, described, and accessible. Howard embodied the role of service to nonprofits," society CEO Lee Arnold said in an email.
Mr. Lewis was a major benefactor and leadership contributor for the Philadelphia History Museum. He underwrote new installations and reinterpretation of the museum's exhibitions, which reopened four years ago.
In recognition of Mr. Lewis' contributions, a second-floor gallery was dedicated to him and his wife, Maxine, in 2013.
He also sat on the library committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He and his wife, a longtime trustee, helped enrich the museum's collection, most notably in the field of Asian art.
"Howard was firmly committed to the growth of the museum," museum leaders Timothy Rub and Gail Harrity said in a statement.
"He and Maxine helped us in many significant ways, from establishing endowments for exhibitions and curatorial positions to regular support for acquisitions and special projects."
In 2006, the couple endowed the Maxine and Howard Lewis Associate Curator of Korean Art, a position now held by Hyunsoo Woo.
"As the only endowed position devoted to Korean art among art museums in the United States, this curatorship has been instrumental in both building the museum's Korean art program and elevating the status of this important field," Rub and Harrity said.
Born and reared in Philadelphia, Mr. Lewis graduated from Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and Harvard Law School.
Mr. Lewis enjoyed scuba diving in the Caribbean and the Pacific, and traveled widely. He loved the plays of Shakespeare. In the early 2000s, he wrote lyrics for the Deep Down, a New York rock group that has since disbanded.
In person, he was "lovely, grumpy, very bright, and got things done," his wife said. "He loved his children and grandchildren."
In addition to his wife, he is survived by sons J. Rodolphe and Howard Jr., and four grandchildren.
A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 5, in St. David's Episcopal Church Chapel, 763 S. Valley Forge Rd., Wayne. Interment is private.
Donations may be made to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust St., Philadelphia 19107.
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