Saul Resnick

Saul Resnick, 84, of Haddonfield, NJ, died June 23rd, 2025 at a local assisted living facility near his home in Haddonfield, NJ. He is survived by his son, Samuel David (Jody), and his grandson, William Saul Resnick (Liam) of Haddonfield, NJ. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Dorothy (in May 2021); his parents, Samuel and Sylvia Resnick, a brother, William, and sisters, Elizabeth and Florence.
Mr. Resnick was a former vice president of Conrail, a major Philadelphia-based railroad company in the 1980s; an award-winning journalist for the Philadelphia Daily News in the 1960s; an outstanding journalism graduate at Temple University in 1963; and a graduate of Harvard University's Advanced Management Program in 1988.
Prior to his retirement from Conrail in 1990, Mr. Resnick led the company's successful public relations fight for independence from government ownership to become a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. He played a major role in gaining support from the news and business news media, as well as editorial writers and electronic media throughout the nation. US government-owned from 1976, Conrail completed its transition with a successful IPO in 1987, the largest in American history at that time.
L. Stanley Crane, Conrail Chairman and CEO, said of Mr. Resnick's contributions: "Saul did a magnificent job for me in image building. More importantly, his work with grass-roots editors and media throughout the nation contributed vitally to the image of a stand-alone Conrail. For that we stand as a team that can be proud of what we accomplished."
In his book entitled "The Men Who Loved Trains, The Story of Men Who Battled Greed to Save an Ailing Industry," former fortune magazine editor Rush Loving Jr. wrote of Resnick's role: "Saul Resnick, a former Philadelphia tabloid reporter who head Conrail's public relations, was, in PR parlance, a streetfighter who gave no quarter. He told reporters and editors that the Department of Transportation was giving away Conrail for a fraction of its true value.
"Is Rail Sale A Con Job?" asked a headline and story by the Chicago Tribune's William Niekirk. The New Republic named it "The Great Train Robbery." One of Resnick's coups was a four-page expose in Rolling Stone entitled "How To Steal a Railroad." A direct result of Mr. Resnick's efforts was an editorial in Barrons, supporting a public stock offering for Conrail. His efforts also gained support from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post, among many news media.
Before becoming VP-Public Affairs, Mr. Resnick served in a variety of management positions at Conrail, achieving many awards for advertising and public relations programs.
In recalling the years leading to Conrail's IPO, and his role in the company, Mr. Resnick, before his death, said they were "the most energizing, demanding, challenging and rewarding years of my career, working 24/7 for the goal, which at that time, was directly at odds with the Reagan Administration's objective for Conrail."
During his time at the Philadelphia Daily News, at which he won several Philadelphia Press Association awards, Mr. Resnick worked as a reporter, rewriteman, picture editor and columnist. He then moved to the Penn Central Railroad in 1968; Penn Central was one of the predecessor railroads of Conrail.
Mr. Resnick served in the U.S. Army from 1963 to 1969. He was a graduate of South Philadelphia High School. He spent his formative years, from ages 8-16 in the Downtown Jewish Orphans Home at 9th and Shunk Streets in South Philadelphia.
After retirement, Mr. Resnick was a member of the Haddonfield Lions Club, and an officer with the Haddonfield 65 Club, and a contributor over the years to many charitable causes, as well as writing a number of stories (gratis) about members of both clubs, which appeared in local publications, including the Haddonfield Sun.
Relatives and friends are invited to the chapel on Sunday, July 13, 2025, beginning at 1:30pm, where funeral services will begin promptly at 2:00pm. Scroll down to see the live stream.