From his cable television empire, operated out of Oaks in Upper Providence, to his desire to have the Museum of the American Revolution located in Lower Providence, to his offices in West Conshohocken, Montco was lucky enough to have H.F. ‘Gerry’ Lenfest leave his mark on our county as he did on the entire Philadelphia region, and perhaps the world.

“Gerry was such a true leader, and just a kind person,” said Mike Bowman, President & CEO of the Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board. “I saw him speak, and I always admired and respected his gratitude for life, his philanthropy, his charisma, and his passion for the region, especially the arts. He was a class act in any setting, and he will be amazingly missed.”

Lenfest, 88, who substantially remade the educational, cultural, and media sectors of the city and well beyond to become one of Philadelphia’s most dynamic civic leaders of the last century, died Sunday morning, a spokesperson for the family said, writes Peter Dobrin for philly.com.

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Mr. Lenfest, who had been in declining health in recent months, parlayed the sale of the family cable business into a second act as the area’s leading philanthropist for nearly two decades, giving away more than $1.3 billion.

Mr. Lenfest was born neither to wealth nor the social status enjoyed by some of his fellow philanthropists. A lawyer by training, Mr. Lenfest and wife Marguerite built up their cable business over several decades, selling Lenfest Communications Inc. in 2000 and undertaking a philanthropic spree that put the Lenfest name alongside those of Girard, Widener, Curtis, Annenberg, Pew, and Haas – the city’s historically most generous families.

He was “one of the greatest philanthropists the city has ever seen,” said Comcast Corp. chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts, who had several close dealings with the businessman before Comcast ended up taking over Lenfest Communications. “He has changed our city and so many institutions.”

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