H. Peter Somers, 88, retired lawyer

H. Peter Somers, 88, of Willistown Township, a retired lawyer, equestrian, and conservationist, died of melanoma, Friday, June 17, at Neighborhood Hospice in West Chester.

Mr. Somers began his career with a law firm in Boston before joining Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Philadelphia in 1956. He became a senior partner, chaired the firm's personal-law section, and served on its management committee. He retired in 1989.

For 50 years, Mr. Somers was a member of the Radnor Hunt Club and was still riding to the hounds with the Cheshire Hunt at 87, his son Stephen said. Hunting on horseback took him all over the United States and Europe. He also enjoyed gardening and grew enough vegetables to share with friends and family.

Mr. Somers was one of the founders of the Willistown Conservation Trust, a nonprofit land trust established in 1979 to protect 28,000 acres surrounding Willistown. He was also active with the Cheshire Hunt Conservancy in Unionville, which was established in the mid-1980s to preserve open space and keep land accessible for fox hunting.

Mr. Somers, whose wife was an artist, was a longtime patron of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

A native of Berlin, Germany, Mr. Somers and his Quaker mother emigrated to the United States in 1936 to escape the Nazis. After graduating from George School in Newtown, he earned a bachelor's degree from Cornell College in Iowa.

During World War II, he served in Army intelligence in Europe.

After his discharge, he earned a master's degree in economics from the University of Iowa and graduated from Harvard Law School, where he was a member of the law review.

He and his wife, Claudia Schutte Somers, were married for 55 years. They were schoolmates in Berlin and met again when he was stationed there with the Army at the end of World War II. They married in 1947 and raised a family as well as horses, chickens, and rabbits in Willistown Township. She died in 2007.

In addition to his son, Mr. Somers is survived by sons Daniel and Conrad; a daughter, Deborah; a sister; and eight grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., Friday, June 24, at Willistown Friends Meeting, 7069 Goshen Rd., Newtown Square.

Donations may be made to the Willistown Conservation Trust, 7000 Goshen Rd., Newtown Square, Pa. 19073.