Mourning the Loss of H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest
The staff of the Lenfest Center and North10, Philadelphia, along with our community partners in Hunting Park and East Tioga, would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of H. F. “Gerry” Lenfest, the long-time philanthropist and civic leader who succumbed to long-time illness this week. His incredible impact on education, art, and culture in Philadelphia cannot be understated, and his legacy of generosity and kindness lives on through the organizations he supported and through his children, who have been inspired and guided by his example. H. Chase Lenfest, son of Mr. Lenfest and a philanthropist himself, founded the Lenfest Center in 2007 to create safe, accessible space for children in Hunting Park to achieve and thrive and North10, Philadelphia in 2017 to expand the support to the larger surrounding community.
Mr. Lenfest worked hard throughout his life to build his cable business and when he sold Lenfest Communications, he and his wife decided to generously give their money away to educational and artistic organizations and communications programs in the Greater Philadelphia area. Across the city, lives have been changed due to their generosity and Mr. Lenfest’s commitment to being in service of their fellow human beings has been admirable and truly awe-inspiring.
We want to express our gratitude for his service to Philadelphians and affirm our commitment to carrying on his life-changing, inspiring legacy of community service.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Lenfest.