Lewis Katz memorial to be held Wednesday

By Patricia Madej

Temple will hold a memorial service for Lewis Katz, alumnus and former trustee member, Wednesday, June 4, at 11 a.m. at the Performing Arts Center. The service will be open to all.

Katz, 72, died Saturday evening when the private Gulfstream IV he was on erupted into flames. Katz was traveling from Massachusetts to New Jersey with seven others members aboard. There were no survivors.

In addition to being a board member, Katz was an avid donor to the university. In November, he donated $25 million to the school, the largest in the university’s history. The Temple Medical School will be named after Katz in his honor.

Katz was also a co-owner of the Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com after winning a bid to buy the trio along with other media subsidies for $88 million last week along with trustee H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest.

Katz received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Temple in 1963.