William R. Dimeling, an entrepreneur, financier and attorney who built a national reputation for buying and operating companies after successful Chapter 11 reorganizations, died October 18, 2001 after an extended battle with pancreatic cancer. Mr. Dimeling, 60, died at his home in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia.
In 1982, Mr. Dimeling and two partners, Richard R. Schreiber and Steven G. Park, formed an investment partnership, Dimeling, Schreiber & Park. Beginning with its purchase of McCall Pattern Company from Chapter 11 in the Southern District of New York, DS&P soon emerged among the national leaders in making such turnaround acquisitions. Other purchases include Piper Aircraft Corporation, Orchids Paper Products, Business Express Airlines, and Rocky Mountain Helicopter. To support their acquisitions, Mr. Dimeling and his partners raised several investment funds.
In addition, Mr. Dimeling and his partners made numerous real estate investments, including the purchase and restoration of several historic buildings on Locust Street, Philadelphia,, including the landmark Emergency Aid Building at 1629 Locust. They also developed Liberty Landing Marina in New Jersey, across the Hudson River from the Manhattan financial district.
Born in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, Mr. Dimeling graduated from Culver Military Academy in Indiana. In 1963, he received his bachelor’s degree in economics/history from Yale University, which he attended on a Navy ROTC scholarship. After more than three years of active duty as a Lieutenant aboard Navy destroyers in the mid-1960s, Mr. Dimeling entered the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, and earned his law degree in 1970. He engaged in private practice with Montgomery, McCracken Walker & Rhoads and then Townsend, Elliot and Munson. In 1976, he was hired by Drew Lewis, Trustee of the Reading Railroad reorganization, to be Executive Vice President of Reading Company. In that capacity, Mr. Dimeling had a central role in the creation of the Philadelphia Convention Center and the restoration of the Reading Terminal Market, both of which were previously Reading Company properties. He also gained extensive experience in bankruptcy court as part of the Reading reorganization.
Prior to joining Reading Company, Mr. Dimeling, John C. Tuten and other partners purchased and operated the Tobias Knoblauch Private Bank, the first of several banking ventures by Mr. Dimeling, which included the creation of a publicly-held company, Guaranty Bancshares Corporation. He also purchased a number of anthracite coal properties in Pennsylvania, and invested in oil and gas properties in the northeast and in the Gulf of Mexico.
While still in law school, Mr. Dimeling worked on the successful U.S. Senate campaign of Richard S. Schweiker, and in 1974, he co-managed Drew Lewis’ campaign for Governor of Pennsylvania. He remained active in Republican Party politics throughout his career.
Mr. Dimeling served as a director of numerous corporations, including the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail), where he was the U.S. Department of Transportation representative, Chief Consolidated Mining, Erie Lackawana Railroad, and for nearly two decades, he served as a Board member of the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust.
Mr. Dimeling is survived by his wife, Mary Lynn (Mimi) Dimeling, whom he married in 1977, and their daughter, Margaret Simcox Dimeling, a senior at Yale University. He is also survived by his father, George McClellan Dimeling, a brother, George McClellan Dimeling III, and sisters Madeline D. Girard, Dorothy Dimeling and Carol D. Gee, M.D.
Mr. Dimeling was a member of the Philadelphia Cricket Club, The Philadelphia Club, the Yale Club of New York, and the Philadelphia Racquet Club, where he lunched almost every day when he was in Philadelphia, and was an active squash competitor until the time of his illness. With his wife, he was a supporter of The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Academy of Music and other philanthropic groups.
A Memorial Service for Mr. Dimeling was held on Thursday October 25, 2001 at 3.30 P.M. at St. Mark’s Church, 1625 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021 or The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104.