Milton A. Feldman, 84, business lawyer

Milton A. Feldman, 84, of Philadelphia, a business lawyer and civic leader, died Monday, May 11, of respiratory failure at Abington Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Feldman worked for various firms, focusing on finance, corporate, and real estate law. He joined the Philadelphia firm of Sterling, Magaziner, Stern & Levy as an associate in 1957 and later was of counsel to Clark, Ladner, Fortenbaugh & Young. He retired from Dilworth Paxson L.L.P. in 2006 after 12 years.

In one high-profile matter, Mr. Feldman was lead attorney for the unsecured creditors in the Drexel Burnham Lambert Group Inc. bankruptcy case. The investment house collapsed in 1990 after it defaulted on $100 million in loans.

Born to Israel C. and Miriam Ruth Grossman Feldman, he was reared in West Oak Lane. He graduated from Cheltenham High School, and earned a bachelor of science degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in 1952. Three years later, he received a degree from Penn's School of Law.

Mr. Feldman spent 19 years ending in 2009 as an overseer of the Graduate School of Education at Penn. He helped develop Penn's international ties by supporting the Six Nation Research Project, which brought together policymakers from the United States and five other countries to understand how educational gains could lead to economic growth.

From 1960 to 1965, Mr. Feldman was chairman of Operation Alphabet, an effort to address illiteracy by teaching adults to read via TV. The program became nationally syndicated.

In the early 1990s, he founded and chaired Philadelphians for Good Government, a group of 30 business, civic, and religious leaders who were concerned about the city's direction. The group produced a study about what citizens thought should be its leaders' priorities.

"Philadelphia has problems. For too often and too long, the solution has been to complain," Mr. Feldman told The Inquirer. "We want people to voice their concerns and have government respond to their desires."

He helped lead Chestnut Hill Hospital, the Union League of Philadelphia, and the Eisenhower Fellowships. He was active in the American Cancer Society and Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania.

He also spent three decades on the Republican State Finance Committee's executive council, from which he helped guide William W. Scranton's successful gubernatorial run in 1962.

His son, Alexander C., called his father "a great dad who led by example and always had time for his only child, which was me."

In addition to his son, Mr. Feldman is survived by his wife of 50 years, Charlotte Tiedeman, and a granddaughter. A brother, Stuart, helped start the National Constitution Center and served on its board before his death in 2010.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday, May 15, at Congregation Rodeph Shalom, 615 N. Broad St. Interment is in West Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Contributions may be made to Milton A. Feldman Education Fund at UPenn Graduate School of Education via http://givingpages.upenn.edu/mickeyfeldman, or Eisenhower Fellowships via https://efworld.org/donate.