Richard A. Tilghman, 96, Pa. state senator who wielded power of the purse
Richard A. Tilghman, 96, of Bryn Mawr, a patrician Republican who represented Montgomery County in the state Senate for three decades and wielded the power of the purse as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, died Thursday, Feb. 23, of cerebral atherosclerosis at Beaumont at Bryn Mawr.
Sen. Tilghman served briefly in the Pennsylvania House before his election to the Senate in 1969. He held the 17th District seat for 32 years, chairing the Appropriations Committee from 1974 to 2001.
In that role, he oversaw Pennsylvania's annual budget, and "brought home the bacon" for constituents in the 17th District, according to a Norristown Times Herald article on his retirement. His rise to power took place during a time of heavy Republican voter registration in the Philadelphia suburbs and, at least in part, the GOP governorship of Tom Ridge.
"Sen. Tilghman was chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee during my first years in Harrisburg and was instrumental in moving our agenda forward," Ridge said. "Mostly, I'll remember Sen. Tilghman as a good and decent man — a consummate gentleman — who served his constituents with distinction for many years. Michele and I extend our sympathies to the Tilghman family and friends."
A strong advocate for veterans, Sen. Tilghman pushed through appropriations for the construction of the Pennsylvania Veterans Memorial at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery in Lebanon County. In 1999, he promoted the allocation of $2 million as Pennsylvania's share of the funding for the National World War II Memorial in Washington.
He helped to improve the quality of life for residents of the Southeastern Veterans Center in Coatesville by securing state funding for rehabilitation of modular housing units, as well as a new boiler plant and dietary facility. The latter bears his name.
In 2000, Sen. Tilghman's contributions were recognized when he was inducted into the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Hall of Fame, and awarded the Pennsylvania Meritorious Service Medal for his "distinguished record of support for veterans' programs and benefits while ensuring fiscal prudence in the expenditure of public funds."
"He did appreciate that," said his son, Richard A. Jr. "We were all there for that, the whole family showed up."
Sen. Tilghman secured state money for breast cancer research and was the driving force behind funding for community services for the disabled and their aging parents. In 1993, following a series of campus crimes against women, he introduced legislation requiring college security departments to maintain daily logs of incidents and make them public.
"It was Dad's amendment that made the log public," his son said. "He felt very strongly about that, and was proudest of that piece of legislation."
By 2001, the voter demographics of the suburbs had begun to tip toward the Democratic Party. When the senator underwent hip surgery and spent two weeks of recovery using a walker, he spent his convalescence evaluating his life. On Aug. 31, 2001, a year into his ninth term, the 81-year-old senator stepped down.
"While the surgery was successful, I also had the chance to think about the future," Tilghman said in a statement that day. "There is no hidden reason for the conclusion, just the belief that after 32½ years in the state Senate, it is the right time to step aside, having addressed many priorities and advanced key projects in this legislative session."
Born in Manchester, England, he was the son of Eliza Middleton and Benjamin Chew Tilghman. He attended St. Paul's School in Concord, N.H., and graduated from Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs, Colo. A member of the Class of 1943 at Princeton University, he served in the Marine Corps during World War II and was honorably discharged in December 1945 with the rank of first lieutenant.
He was awarded a silver star for gallantry in action against the Japanese on Iwo Jima in the Pacific theater from Feb. 19 to March 23, 1945. A military citation indicated that under heavy enemy fire, he held his rifle platoon together and arranged for tanks to attack and destroy enemy positions that were pinning down the left flank of his unit.
After the war, Sen.Tilghman worked on Wall Street for Smith Barney & Co., and learned the wholesale coal business in the Appalachians. He bought a Manayunk plastic bottle company and resold it in the 1970s. By that time, he had launched his career in elective office as a fiscal conservative and a moderate on social issues.
When not at work, Sen. Tilghman enjoyed sailing on the Chesapeake Bay with his family on his 40-foot schooner, Gallant, which he had built in 1966. The front porch of his home in Bryn Mawr was often festooned with "baggywrinkle" — a soft covering for the cables aboard his boat.
Sen. Tilghman served on the Chesapeake Bay Commission. He also was a member of the Schuylkill Fishing Company of Pennsylvania, an angling club; the Gulph Mills Golf Club; Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia; the Fifth Marine Division Association; and the Union League of Philadelphia.
In addition to his son, he is survived by his wife of 73 years, Diana Disston; sons Edward and John; seven grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 29, in the Church of the Redeemer, 230 Pennswood Rd., Bryn Mawr. Burial is private.
Memorial donations may be made to the Southeastern Veterans Center Resident Welfare Fund via donate.dmva.pa.gov, or the National MS Society at nationalmssociety.org/donate.