Joe died Jan. 25, 2003, of respiratory disease at his home in Bryn Mawr, Pa. He was 88.
He prepared at St. Paul's and majored in English. During WWII, he drove an ambulance for the American Field Service in Italy and Germany.
A great-grandson of Joseph Wharton, founder of the Wharton School of Business at Penn, Joe was the fourth generation of his family to head the Philadelphia Publishing Co., founded in 1785 and now known as Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins. He joined the business after graduation and served on the board until 1987. Under his leadership, Lippincott expanded beyond the US into Europe and Asia.
He was chairman of National Library Week and regularly attended the annual meeting of the American Library Assn. to present an award for outstanding librarianship, named for his father. After retirement, he volunteered at a secondhand bookstore in Vero Beach.
His wife of 52 years, Mary Louise Beck; son Joseph "Jay" III; daughters Elizabeth L. Mather and Jean L. Coady; 10 grandchildren and two great-granddaughters survive. With them we mourn the loss of this dedicated, interesting man. Memorial donations may be made to the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation.
The Class of 1937