David E. Loder

David Edwin Loder, a devoted family man, accomplished attorney, and generous supporter of Philadelphia’s educational and cultural institutions, passed away peacefully on October 23, 2025, at the age of 71.

 

Born on April 22, 1954, in Yalesville, Connecticut, to the noted theologian Rev. Theodore W. Loder and Doris A. Loder, David embodied the values of faith, service, and integrity instilled in him from an early age. He was a proud graduate of Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Class of 1972), and Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut (Class of 1977). Upon graduating from Wesleyan, he was awarded a prestigious Watson Fellowship, which took him behind the Iron Curtain to Warsaw, Poland, for a year of independent study. He went on to earn his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1981, and shortly thereafter received a Thouron Fellowship to study international law at the London School of Economics.

 

In 1982, David began what would become a distinguished forty-three-year career with Duane Morris LLP in Philadelphia, where he served as a partner and chaired the Health Law Practice Group for many years. Known for his strategic intellect, judgment, and integrity, Dave’s outstanding reputation as a lawyer in the Health Law space extended well beyond Philadelphia and he was regarded as one of the nation’s most respected healthcare lawyers. As noted by Chairman Emeritus John Soroko, “Dave had a unique ability to turn friends into clients but, even more importantly, to turn clients into friends.  He was passionately devoted to his clients, both large and small, from the formidable Hospital Association of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania’s Trauma Foundation to small medical provider groups, and everything in between.”

 

As the son of a Methodist minister, David lived by the guiding principle to “do all the good you can.” Those values, reinforced by his Quaker education at Germantown Friends School, shaped a lifelong dedication to service and philanthropy. He gave generously of both time and resources to numerous organizations, including serving on the boards of Germantown Friends School, the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Preventive Medical Technology, the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, the ABRAXAS Foundation, Strings for Schools, Teach for America, and the Wilma Theater, where he also served as Chairman. David was also a longtime trustee of both the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation and the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation, through which he helped support hundreds of nonprofit cultural and educational organizations throughout the Philadelphia region.

 

Beyond his professional and civic accomplishments, David’s greatest devotion was to his family and the countless moments he shared with those he loved. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer, and her four children (Reanna, A.J., Nate and Gavin), and by his former spouse, Nadya Shmavonian, with whom he shared three children: Marek (Sierra), Kyle (Allison), and Julya (David), and one granddaughter, Skye Loder. He leaves behind three siblings—Mark, Karen, and Tom—and his beloved Labrador, Elbi.

 

David was a lifelong athlete and fierce competitor, known for his grit and good humor on and off the court. He played football, basketball, and baseball through high school and college, and continued his athletic pursuits later in life through tennis, golf, and doubles squash, playing with characteristic determination until his final year. He was a longtime member of the Philadelphia Cricket Club, where stories abound about his tenacious and scrappy playing styles, the Ausable Club in St. Huberts, New York, where he and his children shared many beautiful summers together in the Adirondacks, and Pinehurst in North Carolina, where he enjoyed many rounds of golf and enduring friendships in a tree-house cabin held in partnership with his closest golf buddies.

 

David found his greatest joy in simple moments—sitting on the porch of his Flourtown home with family, friends, and Elbi at his side, gimlet in hand, listening to the Wissahickon Creek, or on the deck of his home on LBI with Jen, watching the waves crash (ever closer) to his home. He took life seriously, but never too seriously, and his warmth, humor, guidance and generosity will be remembered by all who knew him.

 

A memorial service will be held at 3:00 P.M. on Saturday, November 22^nd at the Germantown Friends School Meeting House at 31 West Coulter Street, Philadelphia, PA 19144. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Penn Medicine Scleroderma Center, with checks payable to Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, including “Scleroderma Center” on the memo line or an enclosed note, and sent to the following address: Penn Medicine Development, attn: Amanda Hills, 3535 Market St., Suite 750, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Donations can also be made online at https://giving.apps.upenn.edu/fund?program=MED&fund=602725