Meyer B. ‘Lefty’ Lefkowitz, World War II veteran, dies

Lefty Lefkowitz might have gone on to play third base as a Cincinnati Red. Instead he remained in Richmond as a Spider and fought in World War II as a Wildcat.

Meyer B. Lefkowitz was a multisport star at Thomas Jefferson High School. He earned letters in baseball, basketball and football and as a senior was captain of the basketball team and was named to the all-state team. Scouts for the Cincinnati Reds were considering his third-base abilities.

He chose instead to stay in Richmond, attend the University of Richmond on a sports scholarship and play baseball and basketball as a Spider.

"He absolutely loved Richmond," said son Andrew Lefkowitz of Philadelphia.

"He was very positive about the city."

After his first year at UR, the Depression's hard times forced Mr. Lefkowitz to leave college. He went to E.I. DuPont de Nemours as an electrician -- and as a baseball player on the company team.

The World War II struggle to dominate the Pacific needed soldiers more than DuPont needed third-basemen.

Mr. Lefkowitz was inducted into the Army at Camp Lee and shipped out for intense training in amphibious and mountain warfare.

He was one of the 77th Infantry Division "Wildcats" who helped retake the island of Guam and went on to join Gen. Douglas MacArthur's effort to drive the Japanese out of the Philippines.

Mr. Lefkowitz died Feb. 1 in Philadelphia, where he had been receiving medical treatment. He was 89.

He held the rank of staff sergeant and was a platoon guide when he was severely wounded in the hip in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines.

"I looked up to see a chaplain who was a Catholic priest giving me last rites . . . but I guess those rites didn't take since I'm Jewish, and I wound up in a hospital in Dutch New Guinea for about six months," he said in a 2004 interview.

On his release from the hospital, he was promoted to first sergeant in Headquarters Company at western Pacific Allied headquarters in Manila. He served there until November 1945, when he headed home. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.

Upon returning to Richmond, he could be found every night practicing on the Central YMCA basketball court. An all-star team he was on played inmates at the State Penitentiary, and he continued coaching basketball when he could no longer play.

He and his wife, Shirley, had four sons but lost one to sudden infant death syndrome at the age of 3 months.

"Dad faced a lot of adversity, but he always sprang back," said son Robert Lefkowitz of Winston-Salem, N.C., a lawyer. "He would always hug you. He wasn't standoffish."

Mr. Lefkowitz and his wife helped run and eventually bought her father's business, Morris Romm Plumbing and Heating Supplies on Hull Street. The sign painted on the building's side can still be seen, his son said.

The company gained a reputation for having fixtures such as claw-footed bathtubs that were hard to find, he said.

Mr. Lefkowitz's wife predeceased him.

In addition to his two sons, survivors also include son Jerry Lefkowitz of New York City, two grandchildren and a great-grandson.