Peter J. Sweeney, 87, longtime professor at La Salle

Peter J. Sweeney of Northeast Philadelphia, who taught accounting at La Salle University for 44 years, died of heart failure at Holy Redeemer Hospital in Meadowbrook, Sunday, Oct. 30, a day before his 88th birthday.

Mr. Sweeney, who earned a bachelor's degree from La Salle, joined the business school faculty in 1949 after earning a master's degree in business from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

As a teacher, he was "tough but fair," said his daughter, Linda Whitehill. Students knew that if they passed his intermediate accounting class, they could succeed as accounting majors, she said.

"He taught generations of students with passion, commitment, and pragmatic focus," said John Reardon, one of Mr. Sweeney's early students and who later became a colleague in the business department.

Everywhere he went, on the boardwalk or on a cruise, he met former students, many of whom had gone on to head major corporations, his daughter said.

While teaching from the 1950s to the 1980s, Mr. Sweeney also worked for the Philadelphia Department of Recreation, including supervising the Jardel Recreation Center in Northeast Philadelphia and the Water Tower Recreation Center in Chestnut Hill. He expanded summer camp programs for underprivileged children and organized numerous day trips to Dorney Park.

Mr. Sweeney grew up in South Philadelphia and graduated from La Salle College High School.

During World War II, he served in the Army Air Force as a radio operator on B-24s on bombing missions over Germany. After his discharge, he pursued his education and in the summer was a lifeguard at the Jersey Shore. In 1948, he was a captain of the North Wildwood Beach Patrol when he met his future wife, Madeline Braskey. They married in 1950 and later enjoyed vacations in North Wildwood with their two granddaughters.

Mr. Sweeney was a passionate fan of La Salle men's basketball and watched the Explorers win the NIT championship at Madison Square Garden in 1952. For years he maintained a private pilot's license and flew out of Northeast Philadelphia Airport. He was an enthusiastic golfer and bicyclist, and at age 82 he biked from Ocean City to Sea Isle City.

He was the ultimate jokester, his daughter said, and described himself as "a raconteur of note."

In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Sweeney is survived by two granddaughters.

Friends may call from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, and from 9 to 10 a.m., Friday, Nov. 4, at Hollen Funeral Home, 3160 Grant Ave., Philadelphia. A Funeral Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. Friday, at St. Albert the Great Church, 214 Welsh Rd., Huntingdon Valley. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery, Bensalem.

Donations may be made to La Salle University, 1900 West Olney Ave., Box 809, Philadelphia, 19141.