William J. Lederer, 84, legislator and judge
Senior Commonwealth Court Judge William J. Lederer, 84, who represented the 175th District in the state House of Representatives for a decade before being named to the bench, died of cancer Sunday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Senior Commonwealth Court Judge William J. Lederer, 84, who represented the 175th District in the state House of Representatives for a decade before being named to the bench, died of cancer Sunday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Judge Lederer grew up with 10 siblings in Fishtown, and he never lost his roots, said his wife, Marie Panosetti Lederer.
As a young Democratic committeeman and later as a legislator and judge, he was "a true social worker," she said. He helped neighbors who were down on their luck, Vietnam veterans who needed an education, and senior citizens who used public transportation, she said.
He was first elected to represent the 175th District, which includes Fishtown, Northern Liberties, Society Hill, Bridesburg and Port Richmond, in 1962. Name recognition was not a problem, as the seat had previously been held by his father, Miles.
After he left the legislature to join Common Pleas Court in 1974, he was succeeded by his brother Raymond.
His wife - whom he had met at the Starlight Ballroom in Wildwood and married in 1950 - recently retired after 16 years in Harrisburg representing the 175th.
During his tenure in Harrisburg, he sponsored a bill providing real estate rebates to senior citizens, and in 1968 he initiated a lawsuit against SEPTA that resulted in a reduced 10-cent fare on public transit for seniors.
Judge Lederer, who later was named senior judge on Commonwealth Court, was of the generation shaped by the Great Depression and World War II.
He dropped out of Benjamin Franklin High School at age 16 to join in the Civilian Conservation Corps. He cut down trees in Montana and sent money back home, his wife said.
He served in the Army during the war, seeing action in North Africa and in the China-Burma-India theater.
When the war ended, he was in India with thousands of other GIs waiting to be sent home. Like him, many of the men had not completed high school, so he established "Foxhole University." He got local villagers to build huts for classes and promised them they could attend classes for free.
After his discharge in 1946, Judge Lederer completed high school in special veterans' classes at Ben Franklin. He earned a bachelor's degree from La Salle College in 1950 and a law degree from Temple University in 1953.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, while practicing law in Philadelphia, Judge Lederer was a legislative assistant to Philadelphia City Council; a deputy secretary of revenue for Pennsylvania; deputy state attorney general; counsel to the register of wills in Philadelphia; and Democratic leader of the 18th Ward.
Throughout his life, the judge was outgoing and very humble and practical, his wife said.
"He would never spend money on himself. I had to buy him suits," she said.
They enjoyed travel in France and Italy. He also enjoyed tennis and swimming.
In addition to his wife and brother, Judge Lederer is survived by a son, William Miles; daughters Doneda Guyon and Regina Joseph; four brothers; a sister; and three grandchildren.
A viewing will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at St. Michael Roman Catholic Church, 1445 N. Second St., Philadelphia. A Funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Saturday. Burial will follow in St. Dominic's Cemetery, Holmesburg.
Memorial donations may be made to the church or to the American Legion Elm Street Post No. 88, 1414 E. Palmer St., Philadelphia 19125.
Read more about Senior Judge William J. Lederer on a Web site set up by his daughter, Regina Joseph, with photos and news from his career at