Very interesting history. I'd never heard about the co-operative
community.
Ms. Funderburg sounds like a real innovator. My condolences to her
friends and family who may read the list.
Maggie
On 9/12/07 1:09 PM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
http://ucreview.com/
Lois and George had an enormous impact on our community. I feel
so lucky to have known them and worked with them.
- Melani
Lois Bye Funderburg 9/17/26 – 8/15/07
More than sixty years ago, an idealistic group of people formed
the Friendship Co-Operative, an intentionally multicultural
community, in the Powelton Village section of Philadelphia. Over
the following twenty years, they purchased buildings and lived co-
operatively - men and women of different races and religions,
respecting one another’s differences, and sharing leadership.
When they began this venture in 1946, theirs was a very radical
approach to housing. With banks redlining huge areas of cities
and the FHA refusing to give mortgages in “mixed” neighborhoods,
developing and maintaining a diverse community was not a simple
matter.
Recognizing additional community needs, ten years later Co-op
members and others created the Powelton Village Development
Association. The goal of this second organization was to reverse
the deterioration of their neighborhood, neglected after many of
the houses were chopped into apartments and rooming houses. They
raised money, bought dilapidated properties, and convinced
homebuyers to live in “the Village.” They brought enthusiasm and
confidence to the area, encouraging neighbors to appreciate the
diverse population and remarkable Victorian housing stock. At a
time when other areas were experiencing “white flight” and real
estate salespeople were accused of “blockbusting,” PVDA described
itself as “A Real Estate Firm With a Social Concern.”
Lois Bye Funderburg, who died on August 15th at the age of 81, was
an early Co-Op resident and founding PVDA board member who went on
to become an extremely effective community leader and a dedicated
local business owner. Her idealism, interest in people, and
appreciation for West Philadelphia neighborhoods led to her life’s
work in the area she helped name “University City.” In addition
to the Co-op and PVDA, she devoted countless hours of volunteer
time to the West Philadelphia Partnership, University City
Historical Society, University City Arts League, and many other
local groups, committees and initiatives. She was a founder and
co-owner of Urban Developers, the residential real estate sales
firm which she and her second husband, George Funderburg, operated
for thirty years, beginning in 1961. She remained a University
City resident until they retired. George Funderburg died last
year on August 16, 2006, exactly 365 days before Lois.
In a 1997 article in the Penn Gazette, writer Samuel Hughes quoted
Lois: “Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods…West Philadelphia
was such a huge place, and we were trying to develop a market in
these big Victorian houses around the University, to encourage
faculty to move back into a diversified neighborhood. So we
decided to designate the area University City.”
I had the privilege of working with Lois and George at Urban
Developers, at 4100 Walnut Street, before they retired. (The
firm was then combined with Bye Real Estate to become Urban & Bye,
Realtor, now owned by Lois’ son Arthur Bye and his wife Jan.)
Lois was a mentor and role model for me, and many others. Today,
most real estate firms are gigantic corporations with lots of
salespeople, operating wherever there is money to be made, but
Lois and George WERE Urban Developers and did most everything
themselves, whether or not working in their chosen neighborhood
was profitable. They were passionate about and dedicated to
University City, donating very generously to so many community
causes. Lois probably spent at least as much time on volunteer
work as she did on sales, networking before that concept had a
name – but networking had its rewards when neighbors needed a real
estate agent. Small but mighty, Urban Developers sold more
houses in the area than all of its competitors combined.
Lois’ friend Sylvia Barkan says that she and Lois organized the
first University City Historical Society House Tour in Garden
Court in the mid-1970s, before house tours were common. And they
didn’t just show the houses, Sylvia explains; they focused on the
history and architectural styles as well. Lois was very
knowledgeable and wrote beautiful, detailed, architectural
descriptions of University City buildings and neighborhoods.
Sylvia also recalls how hard Lois worked to encourage people to
live in University City, a difficult task for many years. Lois
and George drove potential buyers around the neighborhood and
pointed out other houses they’d sold, hosted get-togethers, and
continually promoted the features of the neighborhood.
The University City Arts League was probably Lois’ favorite
neighborhood organization. Her daughter Gwendolyn, who taught
dance there before opening her own studio, recalls that Lois was
on the board for twelve years or longer, president from 1982-1986,
and still working behind the scenes for a few more years after
she’d left the board. I remember that one year, Lois and George
underwrote the entire cost of holding the Arts League’s annual
fundraising auction, so that all of the money taken in from the
event was profit for the Arts League.
Born in Royersford, PA, Lois P. Butcher grew up in Salem and
Woodstown, NJ. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University
of Pennsylvania with a degree in Sociology in 1948 and married her
first husband, Gerard Bye. Their four children, Randy,
Gwendolyn, Alan and Arthur, were born during the Co-op days.
Later the Byes moved to a large home of their own at 3504 Hamilton
Street, which was still in the family until Gerard Bye’s death in
1992.
While at the Co-op, living at 3617 Powelton Avenue, Lois met
Ursula Bucki. They worked together on community ventures and
remained close friends for 57 years, and Ursula was with Lois the
day before she died. “Lois was a people person,” Ursula
explains, but also adds, “She made things happen.” Ursula’s
notes and clippings from the early days of their friendship show
Lois, whose youngest child Arthur was born only the year before,
on the original PVDA board – the only woman, along with 13 men.
Perusing old Urban Developers files, I’d also noticed that so many
of the pictures showed groups of men – and Lois – working on
various endeavors, and this seems to have often been the case in
Lois’ early work. She never struck me as a feminist, but she was
taken seriously by mostly-male organizations long before that was
the norm. Clearly, her quiet efficiency and behind the scenes
competence at getting things done were appreciated. Without
fanfare, not interested in the limelight, Lois Bye Funderburg was
responsible in large part for encouraging the continued vitality
and preserving the architectural integrity of University City as
we know it today. Those of us who care about our neighborhood
owe her our gratitude.
Lois Bye Funderburg died peacefully, with her family around her,
at the Gladwyne retirement community where she had lived since
1991. She is survived by her children and their families,
Gwendolyn Bye Schulman and Steven Schulman; Alan T. Bye, Yvonne
Leach and Justin Bye; Randl H. Bye, Patty Gasper Bye and Sara and
Sean Bye; and Arthur E. Bye 3rd and Jan Bye, Elizabeth Haley,
Meredith Murrill, and Jennifer Fratini. Also her stepchildren,
Diane, Margaret and Lise Funderburg. Her sister, Janet Butcher
Andrews, also survives her.
A memorial service for her will take place on Saturday, September
22, 2007, from 3:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon, at the Central
Philadelphia Monthly Meeting of Friends, 1515 Cherry Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19102.
A memorial fund has been set up in her name to offer scholarships
in dance and theater to talented children who would not normally
have the resources to train at the Gwendolyn Bye Dance Center.
Donations can be sent to the "Lois Bye Funderburg Scholarship
Fund" c/o Dancefusion, 3611 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia PA
19104. Office: 215-222-7633 - Website: www.gbyedance.com
Melani Lamond, Associate Broker
Urban & Bye, Realtor
3529 Lancaster Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
cell phone 215-356-7266
office phone 215-222-4800, ext. 113
office fax 215-222-1101
2006 recipient of the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors
awards:
- Diamond award for over $8 million in sales, and
ALL SIX of the West Philadelphia awards:
- Top Lister
- Top Seller
- Top Overall Combined Volume
- Top Listing Units by Area
- Top Selling Units by Area
- Top Overall Combined Units by Area
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