Ted Lorenz, lawyer, mentor, and retired Army Reserve colonel, has died at 58

Ted Lorenz, 58, of Penn Valley, retired Army Reserve colonel, lawyer, general counsel for the U.S. Department of Defense, former Pennsylvania senior deputy attorney general, teacher, mentor, and volunteer, died Wednesday, Feb. 21, of cancer at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Col. Lorenz enlisted in the New Jersey National Guard in 1987, joined the Army Reserve in the mid-1990s, and was deployed for nine months to Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008. He earned his law degree at Widener University Law School in Wilmington in 1992 and, from 2015 until recently, worked as assistant counsel, senior associate general counsel, and general counsel for two agencies and a university affiliated with the Department of Defense.

He served as a command judge advocate and chief of claims for the Judge Advocate General’s Corps during his tour in Afghanistan, and was exposed to open burn pits and other hazards. He was diagnosed with cancer in January 2023 and retired from the Army Reserve in November 2023 and his job with the Department of Defense in February.

Earlier, Col. Lorenz worked with private law firms from 1993 to 1999 and from 2005 to 2015. In between, he was senior deputy general counsel for the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office in Philadelphia.

Beginning in 1999, he completed reserve assignments as Staff Judge Advocate in New Orleans, Commander of Legal Operations in Salt Lake City, and Deputy Commander of Legal Operations at the military base in Horsham. “He believed in public service and was passionate about defending his country,” said his wife, Anne.

As counsel for the Department of Defense for the last eight years in Philadelphia and Virginia, Col. Lorenz provided legal advice and services of all kinds to military members. He also oversaw the department’s continuing education programs on law and ethics, and mentored countless young lawyers and others.

Former colleagues at his latest job at Defense Acquisition University in Virginia said he was “kind, supportive, and encouraging,” “professional,” and “patient” in an online tribute. They presented his family with a Superior Civilian Service Award in his name, and a colleague said: “Ted had a fantastic effect that will last a long time on the people here. … He was a special person.”

Col. Lorenz earned other awards and medals, including the Meritorious Service Medal for “outstanding achievement.” He made humanitarian missions to Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Guatemala, and was named the 2017 Army Servicemember of the Year by the Liberty USO of Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey.

He also taught consumer law, litigation, and legal assistance courses at Widener and for the JAG’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Va. After he became ill, he stressed the importance of all veterans registering with the VA Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry and closely monitoring their health.

He was elected to a four-year term on the Lower Merion School Board in 2004, was president of his Rotary Club, and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion. In 2008, he presented the school board with two American flags that had flown in Afghanistan and was quoted in a story by the Main Line Times & Suburban: “When I was deployed,” he said, “a lot of what I thought about was how important our educational system is.”

Theodore Ernest Lorenz was born April 6, 1965, in Hempstead, N.Y. His family moved to North Jersey later, and he was class president and a champion cross-country runner at Metuchen High School.

He joined a college theater group and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of Maryland in 1987. He earned a law degree at Widener in 1992 and a master’s degree in strategic studies at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., in 2020.

He met Anne Peachey in law school, and they married in 1994, and had sons Brian and Stephen. She was attracted to his humor and empathy, she said, and he comforted her and others around him even as his health failed.

Col. Lorenz ran in marathons and triathlons, and enjoyed fishing for bass in his favorite lake in upstate New York. He was even-tempered and outgoing, and especially liked to dig in his garden as his dog Curly lounged nearby.

He volunteered at the SPCA and spent many Saturdays visiting animals at a nearby rescue center. “He was a very generous person,” his wife said. “He would cruise the neighborhood and just talk to people.”

Friends of his sons called their memorable interactions with him their own personal Ted Talks. His son Brian said: “Everybody knew Ted. He is my No. 1 role model.”

In addition to his wife and sons, Col. Lorenz is survived by his mother, Barbara, two sisters, and other relatives.

A private service is to be held later.

Donations in his name may be made to the Wounded Warriors Project, Box 758516, Topeka, Kan. 66675.