John Jennings Sr., 73, therapist

John E. Jennings Sr., 73, formerly of Queen Village, a mental-health administrator and therapist, died of heart failure Wednesday, Sept. 8, at a son's home in Malvern.

From 1966 to 1972, Dr. Jennings was director of social services at Glen Mills School, a residential facility for young men referred by courts. He then was director of social services at Eagleville Hospital for the treatment of substance abuse.

In 1977, he helped develop a collaboration of Eagleville, other social-service agencies, and Lincoln University to create an innovative master's degree program in human services. He served as the first president of the advisory board for the program, which permits students to earn the degree through a combination of classroom and field experience. Students who apply must have worked in the human-services professions.

In the 1980s, Dr. Jennings was director of the Charles R. Drew Community Mental Health Center, now the Warren E. Smith Center, in Philadelphia.

He was a child and family therapist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia when he retired in the late 1990s.

A native of North Carolina, Dr. Jennings moved with his family to Georgia as a child. A gifted singer, he studied briefly at the Juilliard School in New York before earning a bachelor's degree at Fort Valley State College in Georgia. He sang the lead in the school's production of the opera Cavalleria Rusticana, said a son, Terrence.

Dr. Jennings earned a master's degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate in philosophy from Southeastern Louisiana University.

In 1957, he married Theresa Smith, and the couple had two sons. They divorced in 1972, and in 1974 he married Valia Poupolo O'Donnell.

Dr. Jennings sang in choirs, including at Old Swedes Church in Queen Village. He and wife Valia traveled around the world several times, his son said. She died in 2007.

In addition to his son Terrence, Dr. Jennings is survived by son John Jr.; stepsons William, Richard, and Michael O'Donnell; 12 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and his first wife.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, at the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan, 212 W. Lancaster Ave., Paoli, where friends may call after 9:30.

Memorial donations may be made to the Dr. John E. Jennings Foundation in care of Penn Liberty Bank, 1301 Paoli Pike, West Chester, Pa. 19380.