Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Joseph Lybrand Jr. PYLE
Joseph L. Pyle Jr., 86, of Devon, a former investment banker, Tredyffrin Township supervisor, and SEPTA board member, died Friday, Oct. 28, at home following strokes.
Inquirer Editorial Board writer George Wilson praised him as Mr. Pyle reached a milestone in December 1985.
"Joseph L. Pyle, on the SEPTA board since 1964, is winding up 21 years of dedicated and pioneering public service in that unpaid position.
". . . In crisis after crisis, in bad times and good, Pyle has been a voice of reason on the SEPTA board.
"In its public meetings and behind the scenes he has been a constructive force for reconciliation of differences.
"He knew how to compromise without giving in."
Born in Wilmington, Mr. Pyle graduated from Tower Hill High School there in 1942 and, while a student at the University of Pennsylvania, was drafted into the Army Air Force in 1943. He worked as a radio operator on B-25 bomber missions during the China Burma India campaign.
Mr. Pyle graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1948 and, after traveling in Europe, owning a hardware store in Dayton, Ohio, and working for a chemical firm, began his investment career at Kidder, Peabody & Co. in 1957.
In 1961, while with Kidder Peabody, a news report said he had been elected treasurer of the Investment Association of Philadelphia.
His son, Joseph L. III, said Mr. Pyle was a vice president at three firms: Kidder Peabody from 1982 to 1994, Paine Webber from 1994 to 2000, and UBS/Paine Webber until 2002.
Mr. Pyle also had three other careers.
From 1962 to 1983, he was a Tredyffrin Township supervisor, his son said.
In 1964, the Chester County commissioners named him a county representative on the SEPTA board, where, his son said, he was vice chairman from 1968 to 1978.
And he was a board member at Paoli Memorial Hospital from 1964 to 1995 and its chairman from 1979 to 1984. He was a trustee emeritus from 1995 to 2011.
In retirement, his son said, Mr. Pyle was a volunteer in the hospital's emergency room.
The Inquirer editorial tribute also noted: "He's a friendly man with a good sense of humor - something that a successful SEPTA board member has to have. It's tough and largely thankless work."
Besides his son, Mr. Pyle is survived by his wife, Jane; a daughter, Elizabeth Mackness; and five grandchildren.
A memorial service was set for 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at St. Peter's Church in the Great Valley, 2475 St. Peter's Rd., Malvern.
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