Robert William Hernblad, 75, longtime community activist

INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE is no big deal anymore, but in 1966, when Robert Hernblad, who was white, and Gladys Kinard, who was African-American, wed, it was a different story.

Their wedding came a year before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down bans on interracial marriages in all states.

And despite the fact that the civil-rights movement was in full swing, Robert and Gladys got many a bad look, and not just from racists. Many mainstream Americans were not ready to welcome interracial couples.

Nevertheless, Robert and Gladys remained a loving and supportive couple for 43-plus years, before her death in July 2009 at the age of 77.

Robert William Hernblad, who devoted most of his life to various groups that work for the benefit of the needy and underserved, died of cancer on Jan. 10. He was 75 and lived in Northern Liberties.

Early in their marriage, Robert and Gladys were eager to give support to other interracial couples, and in 1992, they founded Interracial Families United Network.

"It was their goal to share their experiences, help others, and make society a better place for interracial couples and families," his family wrote in a tribute.

At the time, Gladys, who grew up in Saluda, S.C. - where she had to walk six miles back and forth to high school - told a reporter, "We had no support for our situation." The new network, she said, would support "all interracial marriages - Asian, Hispanic and African-American."

The couple met at Fellowship House in Philadelphia, where people of all races and backgrounds could meet and socialize.

"They did everything together," his family said, "and they deflected any outside negative influences from family, friends and society."

Robert was born in Queens, N.Y., to Mary Josephine Crowley, who was of Irish descent, and Nils Hernblad, a Swedish immigrant.

After his father died when Robert was 12, the family moved to Foxborough, Mass. He attended Foxborough High School, where he played basketball. He went on to Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and graduated in 1962 with a bachelor's degree in English literature. He later earned a master's in administration from Antioch University.

He served as project manager for various programs sponsored by the city Department of Recreation, the Midtown Parish of the United Methodist Church at 8th and Diamond streets, and the William Penn Foundation. He was deputy director of the Institute of Human Development, a heater repair specialist for Cookman United Methodist Church, a substitute public-school teacher, and director of the community center and gym for the Salvation Army Germantown Avenue Corps.

He also was lead therapist for the Dr. Warren E. Smith Health Center in North Philadelphia, founded by an African-American psychiatrist who died in 1990.

He and his son, Konrad, made a trip to Sweden to find his father's birthplace in the northern part of the country.

Besides his son, he is survived by a daughter, Kirsten Hernblad-Poston, and four grandchildren.

Services: Memorial service 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, at Arch Street Friends Meeting House, 320 Arch St.