A number of well-known area residents died in 2025, leaving deep holes in the community. Among them were:
• Mary Jane Shelly, longtime Chestnut Hill Local editor and reporter, 94. A daughter of Irish immigrants and mother of 10 children who became the first in her family to graduate from college, she died Feb. 3. During her decades at the Local, Shelly not only won statewide awards for her work, but also earned the deep respect and gratitude of the community she loved and served for more than 30 years. She received an award in 1997 from the Chestnut Hill Community Association.
• Sarah West, 87, who won a “Volunteer of the Year” award from Friends of the Wissahickon, died of age-related ailments. The longtime Mt. Airy resident and former math and science teacher at Germantown Friends School for more than 25 years, she dedicated her retirement years to environmental education and was a medal-winning dragon boat racer. “She was instrumental in developing our popular Guided Walks & Talks program,” FOW said in a statement.
• The Rev. Gus Roman, an inspirational orator, spiritual leader, and humanitarian, who led several churches — including 26 years at Canaan Baptist Church of Germantown — died April 23. Roman, whose ministry lasted more than 60 years, was 92. He lived in Mt. Airy from 1966 to 1977 and then Wyncote for 48 years. Roman’s son Derrick told the Local, “My dad was touched and blessed by earthly angels throughout his life.”
• Tom Hemphill, long-time Chestnut Hill resident, former Naval reservist, advertising agency “magician” (according to his closest co-worker) and copywriter, political junkie, television director, cartoonist, former Chestnut Hill Community Association board member, talented tennis player and swimmer and instructor for blind sculptors at Allens Lane Art Center, died May 8 at the age of 93. “Tom was magical,” said John Crane, who worked with Hemphill from 1984 to 1988.
• Gerald Kaufman, an activist, lawyer and former executive director of Awbury Arboretum in Germantown who served in the state House of Representatives for three terms, died on May 10. He was 92 and a longtime resident of West Mt. Airy. Kaufman served in the legislature from 1966 to 1972, but after his six years, he chose to forego another run. “He was a warm, engaging person, inquisitive and opinionated,” David Yanoff, Kaufman’s stepson, told the Local.
• Donald H. Cresswell, 84, died June 19. He was co-owner (with Christopher Lane) of the Philadelphia Print Shop, at 8405 Germantown Ave. from 1982-87, and then at 8441 Germantown Ave. until it was purchased and moved by a new owner in 2020. Cresswell also was an appraiser on the PBS series “Antiques Roadshow,” author of scholarly books and articles, and a university librarian and visiting lecturer.
• Anthony ‘Tony’ Iaquinto, 68, the longtime Wyndmoor pizza maven, died in June. He took over the family’s pizzeria when his father retired in 1989. He once told the Local that, when his parents opened the business in 1962, there were days when there were almost no customers, but when they started using the recipes they grew up with, things picked up considerably. In 2018, a developer planned a retail and condominium development in Wyndmoor’s central business district. All the business owners agreed to sell except Iaquinto. The developer was forced to reimagine his original plan.
• Alice Walker Ballard, 77, landmark civil rights attorney, cellist, and choral singer, died Sept. 8. Ballard was an unyielding advocate for equality and justice. She was the daughter of famed horticulturist Ernesta Drinker Ballard and attorney Fredric Lyman Ballard Jr. Though her family co-founded the Ballard Spahr Law Firm, Ballard decided while attending Harvard Law School that she would take a different path. Her daughter Sarah recalled, “The school hosted a career fair before graduation and it didn’t dawn on her that she should go check in and say ‘Hi’ to the Ballard Spahr table.” Instead, she drove to Maine, where she worked at a poverty law center.
• Jeffrey Purcell Minehart, a Chestnut Hill lawyer who spent 40 years in Philadelphia courtrooms, with 18 years spent on the bench in the Court of Common Pleas, told the Local in 2021 that it was time for a change. “I’m 74 years old, and I feel that it’s time for me to pass my gavel and turn in my robe.” Minehart died Sept. 2 at age 78. Minehart became interested in the law during his first job after college as a juvenile probation officer. While attending Temple University School of Law at night, Minehart also worked as a salesman and bartender. As a lawyer, he was a prosecutor and private criminal defense attorney. He never tired of telling funny stories, especially ones where he was the foil.
• Former longtime Chestnut Hill resident Dr. Peter N. Walsh had an international reputation as a scientific investigator, mentor and physician whose pioneering research transformed the medical community’s understanding of thrombosis and hemostasis. He died Sept. 25 at age 90. Walsh, who had a 40-year career as a physician/scientist at Temple University School of Medicine, wrote more than 200 peer-reviewed papers and several book chapters. He served on numerous editorial boards and advisory committees, earning many honors for his contributions to science and medicine.
• Longtime Mt. Airy resident Rabbi Arthur Waskow, who died Oct. 20 at age 92, resembled what one might imagine was an Old Testament prophet. His every word, much of it about multicultural, multiethnic and multireligious harmony and understanding, bespoke hard-fought wisdom and a love of kindness, empathy and justice. And he was no armchair philosopher. He was first arrested in 1963 during a walk-in to end racial segregation at a Baltimore amusement park, and was arrested at the U.S. Capitol in 2016 in a protest against what he called “hyper-wealth.”
