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Richard S. Ravenscroft, 75, of Bryn Mawr, a banker, consultant, investor and involved member of Philadelphia’s cultural community, died Thursday, Dec. 19th at Bryn Mawr Hospital. He was surrounded by his family. Mr. Ravenscroft was active in a number of Philadelphia’s cultural institutions, serving as Director and Treasurer of the Academy of Music, Director and Treasurer of the Philadelphia Orchestra and was subsequently named Emeritus Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He was also Director of the Wistar Institute, Trustee of the Pennsylvania Ballet Association, and Director and Honorary Treasurer of the College Art Association. He was Chairman of the Avenue of the Arts Council and a Trustee of the Fairmount Park Art Association. He was also closely involved with the Central Philadelphia Development Corporation, serving as president and director. He graduated from the Haverford School in 1955 and Yale University in 1959. Throughout his life, he was passionate about singing. At Yale, he was a member of the Yale Glee Club and a member of the Yale Whiffenpoofs of 1959. He and his fellow Whiffenpoofs have performed through the years, including many times at his house in Bryn Mawr, most recently singing in April of this year at his daughter’s wedding. He learned how to play the piano at a late age, attaining a reasonable facility in song and choral accompaniment. Mr. Ravenscroft spent a large part of his professional life at Philadelphia National Bank (PNB). In 1960, he entered the bank’s training program and in 1962 joined the Philadelphia International Investment Company (PIIC), an “Edge Act” subsidiary of PNB, where he was the architect of the Associated Bank Program, investing in financial institutions around the world. He became President of PIIC in 1966. He left for one year from 1969-1970 to serve as Director, Policy and Planning Division of the Office of Direct Foreign Investment for the U.S. Department of Commerce. Upon returning, he then moved to various senior management positions within PNB, ultimately becoming president as well as Deputy Chairman of CoreStates Financial. During this time, the bank grew, was in a strong strategic position and enjoyed a healthy valuation. He served as Chairman of the Board of Governors (Eastern Division), was a member of the executive committee (State Division) of the Pennsylvania Economy League, and was a member of the Reserve City Bankers Association. After Mr. Ravenscroft left in 1986, CoreStates made a series of acquisitions until it was acquired by First Union Corp in 1998. The bank is now part of Wells Fargo. After the bank, Mr. Ravenscroft left the institutional world to be an advisor and private investor. He facilitated the creation of Berwind Financial Group, a subsidiary of Berwind Corporation, and served on its board of directors. In 1994, he wrote an op-ed published in the Philadelphia Inquirer opposing the plan to acoustically retrofit the Academy of Music. Instead, he supported the creation of a new home for the Philadelphia Orchestra, while keeping the academy’s architectural integrity intact and staying true to the building’s original purpose. Mr. Ravenscroft was an avid gardener and horticulturalist. Among other projects, he designed a 450 foot long, four foot wide walking garden stretching through sun and shade along the brick wall of his Bryn Mawr property. The garden was conceived for the enjoyment of his neighbor to experience as she walked her dogs three times a day. He maintained a lifelong interest in music and the visual arts, particularly photography, cinematography as well as sound recording and engineering. Later in his life, he explored the growing power of computers to make music and edit photographs and video. A longtime parishioner of the Church of the Redeemer, Mr. Ravenscroft helped plan a recording system to capture services and music. Serving on the church’s grounds committee, he was involved in the landscape design of the churchyard and personally oversaw the creation of the rector’s garden. Mr. Ravenscroft enjoyed cooking and developed a particular skill in creating pan-based sauces that his friends and family appreciated. A true dog lover, he owned a series of Border Collies and mixed-breed dogs. He is survived by Susan, his wife of 43 years, his son, Philip (Jill), and his daughters Allison Van Etten (Douglas) and Catherine Bailey (Jacob), a brother Hugh, two sisters Enid and Dale, and three grandchildren. His Memorial Service will be held on Sat. Jan. 4th, 2014, 11AM, in Church of the Redeemer, corner of Pennswood and New Gulph Rds., Bryn Mawr PA 19010. His burial will be private in the Churchyard. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to either Church of the Redeemer or The Philadelphia Orchestra Association, One South Broad St., 14th Floor, Phila., PA 19107

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Richard S. Ravenscroft

February 24, 1938 - December 19, 2013