DAVID S. LOEB Jr.

LOEB
DAVID S. JR.

of Wyndmoor, died on June 25, 2017. He lived an extraordinary life in every sense of the word. In his 84 years, he inspired the lives of so many, leading by quiet, determined, and joyous example. "To know him was to love him," said his Germantown Friends School classmate, Kitty Grecia. "It was as simple as that." Growing up in East Oak Lane, he lived a charmed life in many respects. As a young man at Germantown Friends School, he was beloved by all, his keen intellect and contagious humor drawing him into and across all social borders. Brimming with promise, David graduated from GFS in 1951 and studied architecture for one year at Rollins College before attending Philadelphia College of Art to study industrial design. Tragedy struck in the summer of 1953 when, at age 20, an accident left David a quadriplegic. His indomitable spirit conquered this towering adversity, and it was during his time in rehabilitation that he discovered his passion for investments. It was also during his rehab that he met his future wife, Barbara Rodgers, who was one of his rehab nurses. At that moment, and in so many more in his life, it would have been so easy to see his glass as half empty, David never did. He constantly looked on life as a series of potentially beautiful adventures and positives. He was always questioning, always so interested in raising the bar - whether in his budding investment business, his personal life, or in the ways he joyously reached out to enrich the lives of everyone around him, showing by example that no challenge, however daunting, was insurmountable. His brilliant and creative mind was ideally suited to understanding investments and investment management. He also possessed an innate ability to connect with his clients, successfully helping them work towards their financial futures. David joined the research department of Newburger and Co., heading up the department until the firm was acquired by Advest Inc. in 1970. Over the course of his 60 year career as a financial advisor, he served as a Senior Vice President and Senior Financial Advisor with Advest. Upon Merrill Lynch's acquisition of Advest, David continued to serve in the same capacity before joining Raymond James with his team in 2016. David was a powerful mentor for those who worked for and with him. He launched many a career, and was widely respected by peers. He continued to nurture and grow his practice with remarkable dedication up until a few weeks before his death. His family meant everything to him. He delighted in being a loving, caring and engaged husband and father. After meeting Barbara under such adverse circumstances, he again created beauty out of what for many could just have been chaos. They married in 1958. He somehow balanced his thriving career with raising a family, doting on his three children, Susan, David and Judy. He managed and surmounted the myriad challenges of his quadriplegia each day with extraordinary grace and humor. It would be easy to think that David's lifelong commitment to philanthropy grew out of his accident, and wanting to give back to those who had shown him such care as he recovered and learned to live with his physical limitations. But certainly even before his accident, David was always the one to reach out and ask if others needed a leg up or shoulder to lean on. During his lifetime, he provided significant philanthropic support to Abington Hospital, Moss Rehab and his Alma Mater, Germantown Friends School. He would always ask, "How are you doing - what are you working on and what do you need?" He was keenly interested in ways he could provide opportunities and open doors, whether he was helping students participate in a choir trip to Europe or doctors researching cures for paralysis. Most recently, he partnered with Abington Hospital to establish the Barbara & David S. Loeb, Jr. Comprehensive Heart Failure program in honor of Dr. Robert A. Watson III. David's determination to regain his independence led him to work many long hours with physical therapists and mechanics to retrofit a van that he could drive. Recognizing how much that meant to him, and how vitally important it was, he subsequently funded a program and equipment at Moss Rehab, to make driving accessible to others challenged by disability. David will be remembered for his deep and loving commitment to his family, friends, coworkers and clients. He leaves behind his beloved wife, Barbara (nee Rodgers), and his children Susan Moore (Thomas), David III (Michele) and Judy Felix (Ted). He is also survived by his 6 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. A memorial service to honor and celebrate David's life is scheduled on Sunday, October 15, 2017, at 2:00 p.m., at Germantown Friends School, in the David and Barbara Loeb Performing Arts Center. Contributions in David's memory can be made to Germantown Friends School (Music Dept.) 31 W. Coulter St., Phila. PA 19144 or Moss ReHab Spinal Cord Injury Program, 60 Township Line Road, Elkins Park PA 19027.