Philip Lown Dead at 85

Funeral services for Philip W. Lown, industrialist, philanthropist and Jewish educational leader, will be held tomorrow in Newton, Mass. Mr. Lown, a resident of Miami Beach and Newton, died yesterday at the age of 85. Actively associated with the establishment of the State of Israel, he was one of the founders of the United Jewish Appeal and co-founder of the State of Israel Bonds.

“Born in Lithuania, Lown came to the United States at the age of 17 and received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine. He served in the Army’s Chemical Warfare Division during World War I and later operated a chemical factory.

He was long active at Brandeis University serving as trustee and trustee emeritus and where he launched the Lown School of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. Lown was a major figure in the evolution of Hebrew College in Brookline, serving as trustee, president and chairman of the board. The college established the Philip W. Lown Division of Education in 1972 and designated Lown as the first recipient of its medallion for leadership in Jewish education.

He also underwrote three facilities in Jerusalem–the Lown Community Health Center, the Library of the School of Education of the Hebrew University and a special Hadassah program to help immigrants from North Africa.

ACTIVE IN MANY GROUPS

Lown was an honorary fellow and later a member of the board of governors of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He was a pioneer in the development of camping to provide Jewish experience and knowledge for young Jews and was honorary president of both the American Association for Jewish Education and the Camp Lown Association.

Lown was a national leader of the Hillel Foundation and served as treasurer of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Commission for many years. He was a fellow of the Jewish Academy of Arts and Sciences and received the Jewish Theological Seminary of America’s medal for distinguished contributions to Jewish education.