PRINTER'S NO. 4085
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
1083
Session of
2018
INTRODUCED BY NEILSON, HENNESSEY, READSHAW, BRIGGS, CHARLTON,
BIZZARRO, THOMAS, DONATUCCI, VITALI, KINSEY, BURNS, HILL-
EVANS, DiGIROLAMO, J. McNEILL, KAUFFMAN, CORBIN, MILLARD,
JAMES, STURLA, BARRAR, GODSHALL, YOUNGBLOOD, B. O'NEILL,
ROEBUCK, DRISCOLL, SOLOMON, CALTAGIRONE AND WATSON,
SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
A RESOLUTION
Honoring the life and legacy of Harold FitzGerald "Gerry"
Lenfest for his contributions to Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, From childhood, Harold FitzGerald "Gerry" Lenfest
was an entrepreneurial force who grew to be not only an astute
businessman but a guiding philanthropic force of Philadelphia's
educational, cultural and media landscape; and
WHEREAS, Born May 29, 1930, in Jacksonville, Florida, and
raised primarily on his family's farm in Hunterdon County, New
Jersey, Gerry Lenfest came from humble beginnings; and
WHEREAS, Gerry Lenfest's naval architect father entered him
into Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, True to his industrious nature, Gerry Lenfest worked
as a roughneck in North Dakota, a farm hand and aboard a ship
that carried oil between Venezuela and Europe upon graduation
from Mercersburg Academy; and
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WHEREAS, Gerry Lenfest later attended and graduated from
Washington and Lee University with a degree in economics before
joining the Navy, where he rose to captain and served in the
Navy Reserve for 24 years; and
WHEREAS, While in the Navy Reserve, Gerry Lenfest attended
and graduated from Columbia Law School; and
WHEREAS, In 1965, Gerry Lenfest began his career in the
communications industry by serving as counsel for Walter
Annenberg and Triangle Publications, Inc., and later went on to
serve as editorial director, publisher and president of cable
for Seventeen Magazine; and
WHEREAS, In 1974, Gerry Lenfest started his first business,
Lenfest Communications when he bought two cable systems from
Annenberg; and
WHEREAS, After selling his company, Gerry Lenfest and his
wife, Marguerite, made the impactful decision to give their
entire fortune to charity; and
WHEREAS, By providing the single-largest donation to the
Museum of the American Revolution and encouraging others to
support the museum, Gerry Lenfest showed his dedication to
honoring both his fellow veterans, past and present, and the
history of our nation; and
WHEREAS, Gerry Lenfest was also dedicated to preserving
Philadelphia's future by investing in the city's media
institutions; and
WHEREAS, Being a champion of free speech and the free press,
Gerry Lenfest purchased the Philadelphia Media Network (PMN),
publisher of Philly.com and the long-established, Pulitzer
prize-winning Inquirer and Daily News, with his friend and
business partner Lewis Katz; and
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WHEREAS, Upon Lewis Katz's death, Gerry Lenfest donated PMN
to the Institute for Journalism in New Media, renamed the
Lenfest Institute for Journalism in 2016; and
WHEREAS, David Boardman, chair of the Lenfest Institute for
Journalism and dean of Temple University's Klein College of
Media and Communication, said "His vision of local journalism as
an essential public trust - as worthy of philanthropic and
community support as hospitals and libraries - has been
groundbreaking"; and
WHEREAS, Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest together gave more than
$1.3 billion to 1,100 organizations through the Lenfest
Foundation and jointly accepted the Philadelphia Award in 2009
and the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2017; and
WHEREAS, Gerry Lenfest elevated Philadelphia's art community
by both supporting and serving as chairman of the board to the
Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Curtis Institute of Music;
and
WHEREAS, Continuously committed to the advancement of his
fellow man, Gerry Lenfest entrusted his vision of excellence to
his partners, invested in his employees and supported
educational institutions such as Marguerite's alma mater, Wilson
College, and his alma maters, served as vice chairman of Temple
University's board of trustees and established the Lenfest
Scholarship Program for students from rural Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, Gerry Lenfest was, as historian David McCullough
described, "A devoted Philadelphian if ever there was one. His
love of that city and its history, and his willingness to be not
only generous with his philanthropy but to work hard to attain a
worthy objective, is something we could all take a lesson from
on how to go about life"; and
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WHEREAS, On Sunday, August 5, 2018, at the age of 88, Gerry
Lenfest passed away, survived by his wife, children, two
sisters, a brother and four grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, Gerry Lenfest's life-long contribution as a leader
and philanthropist are worthy of honor and recognition; and
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor Harold
FitzGerald "Gerry" Lenfest for his contributions to
Pennsylvania.
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