Lawrence G. Golde ’63

Larry, a distinguished appellate ­litigator in Manhattan, a community activist, and a historical preservationist, died of cancer Nov. 25, 2011, at a ­hospital near his retirement home in Saxtons River, Vt.

In 1984 he was instrumental in the recovery from East Germany of 49 works by the Bauhaus expressionist Lyonel Feininger. The paintings went to the Phillips Gallery in Washington. Larry also served seven years as the president of the Society for Clinton Hill in historic brownstone Brooklyn.

An avid tennis and squash player and a three-time New York City marathoner, he had been a No. 1 singles player at Schreiber High School in Port Washington, N.Y. At Princeton he majored in classics, won the Class of 1870 Old English Prize, and ate at Elm Club. He wrote his thesis on the satires of Horace and Juvenal (he could read Greek, Latin, Old English, Gaelic, and French) and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Senior year he roomed with his best high-school friend, Warren Christensen, and with John Haley, Zimani Kadzamira, Jay Ripps, Mark Shackelford, Pete Strow, Bill Thom, John Weiss, Warren Wood, and Sheldon Zabel.

At Harvard Law School he chaired the board of student advisers.

Surviving are his devoted wife of 39 years, Abigail; his brother, Robert H. Golde ’66; and 14 nieces and nephews.