Robert Wesley Lentz

ROBERT W. LENTZ, ATTORNEY AND CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATE

Robert W. Lentz, Esquire of Venice, Florida, formerly of Paoli, Pennsylvania and Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, died on Wednesday, September 15, 2021, of complications of a fall. He was 87. He is survived by his wife, Nancy of Venice, Florida; son Adam (Maggie); daughter Heather; stepson Andy Selleman; stepdaughter Sharon Meyers (John); and granddaughters Tracey Meyers and Jesse Van Tassel. He was predeceased by his daughter Kimberly and his former wife, Joyce Kummer.

Bob was well known in Chester County as a trial attorney, and was a member of the Chester County Bar Association for over 50 years. At the time of his retirement, he was a principal of Lentz, Cantor & Massey, Ltd., of Malvern, a firm he originally formed in West Chester in 1969. He began his legal career with Morgan Lewis and Bokius in Philadelpia, after graduation from the University of Pennsylvania in 1959. He received his bachelors degree from Lafayette University in 1955.

His parents were Clarence W. Lentz and Roberta H. Lentz of Washington D.C., where he was born in 1934 and where he graduated from Wilson High School in 1951. During high school, we volunteered as a Congressional Page and was also a member of the Cadets Company “B” championship competitive drill team.

Bob considered himself to be a “Country Lawyer”, practicing in every area of the law and serving everyone who needed his services. Early in his career he encountered first-hand the consequences of racial injustice in the law and in public policy.

In the summer of 1964 Bob worked with the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) in Mississippi for two weeks representing volunteers who were jailed for their civil rights efforts. His recollections

are memorialized in “Diary of a Country Lawyer During Two Weeks in Mississippi”, the manuscript of which is in the Swarthmore College Peace Collection, along with letters and certificates regarding his speaking engagements. The manuscript consists of

long letters to Joyce with a request to her to type them up and send them to the COFO office. The first letter, dated June 22, 1964, includes a chilling

note: “Several days ago as people were coming out of a church after a meeting they were beaten and the church burned. This happened in Philadelphia Mississippi. Last nite [sic] 3 COFO workers didn’t return from a trip to Phila to investigate.” Later that day he wrote another letter and added “The 3 COFO workers are still missing and it doesn’t look good. They were let out of jail about 10:00 pm Sunday and haven’t been heard from since.”

The bodies of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were found buried in a swamp on August 4, 1964. They had been shot at close range. Their story became the basis for “Mississippi Burning”. Lentz returned to Mississippi in November of 1966 to help in the general election and found that conditions had changed for the better, to some degree.

His civil rights efforts were also locally focused. He was affiliated with the United Political Action Committee of West Chester, participating in such matters as improving the quality of education

in the public schools for minority students and establishing the Ward system of voting to remedy the disenfranchisement of minority voters. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of what is now Cheyney University for several years.

Meanwhile, Bob’s eldest child, Kimberly, born in 1961, was struggling with severe developmental and physical disabilities. In 1984, on behalf of Kimberly and another young woman, Bob joined in the landmark case of Halderman v. Pennhurst, which eventually led to the end of inhumane institutionalization of disabled individuals.

Bob always threw himself into his recreational interests with the same zeal applied to his legal representation. He enjoyed sailing on the Chesapeake on his sailboat “Thor”, riding his Goldwing Honda motorcycle and SCUBA diving. In the case of diving,

he combined pleasure with service, joining the FAME fire company and performing rescue and recovery dives, and teaching water safety and water rescue to fellow voluneers.

After retiring to Florida, Bob’s competitive spirit found a new outlet in professional croquet. He swiftly became a ferocious player and organizer. Under his direction the Sarasota County Croquet Club became a national tournament venue.

A private memorial service was held in Sarasota. He will be remembered at the Chester County Bar Association annual memorial service in December. Memorial gifts may be made to Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania to honor his commitment to providing legal services to the underserved. Condolences to the family made be directed to Linda Andrews, Office Manager, at Lentz, Cantor &. Massey,

460 East King Road, Malvern, PA. 19355.