Theodore Eisenberg, 90, Human Relations Commission deputy

THEODORE EISENBERG was dedicated to making sure everybody got a fair shake in life.

As a deputy director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, he was charged with seeing to it that city laws governing fair housing, civil rights, job and sex discrimination and affirmative action were enforced.

His team dealt with complaints both major and minor, like the woman who complained of sex discrimination because she was given one roll in a restaurant and her husband, being a male, got two.

"He was devoted to defending the rights of individuals, in keeping with his persona," said his daughter, Leslie Eisenberg Marion.

Theodore Eisenberg, a lawyer who also served as an assistant state attorney general, and a Navy veteran who saw action aboard a destroyer at Omaha Beach in the Normandy Invasion in World War II, died Aug. 21. He was 90 and lived in the Northeast.

Theodore served on the USS Thompson at Normandy on June 6, 1944, as a chief petty officer and fire control officer, and after the war when it was converted into a mine sweeper.

At Normandy, the ship supported rangers attacking Pointe du Hoc, a promontory overlooking Omaha Beach, and shelled other targets as U.S. forces fought to gain a foothold on the continent of Europe.

On two occasions, USS Thompson transported Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and other high-ranking officers to the scene of the fighting.

His daughter is convinced that she is alive today because a Navy captain she knew only as "Sundown Saunders" saved the ship her father was on when it was serving as a minesweeper in the Yellow Sea after the war.

"The story we were told was that the ship was heading for a Japanese mine. The captain saw it and dashed to the pilot house, grabbed the wheel, and steered the ship away from the mine," she said. "Because of Sundown Saunders, I'm talking to you now."

Leslie said her father "was very proud of his Navy service."

For his 80th birthday, the family gave him a jacket bearing the Navy insignia with the name of his ship embroidered on it.

Thedore Eisenberg was born in Harrisburg to John and Lena Eisenberg, immigrants from Eastern Europe. He graduated from William Penn High School in Harrisburg. After the war, he attended Dickinson College and Dickinson Law School on the GI Bill.

He opened a private law practice in Philadelphia specializing in civil cases, before he joined the Human Relations Commission under the late Clarence Farmer Sr.

He also served as an assistant state attorney general in the administration of William Scranton. He retired in 1987.

He married Sylvia Needleman in 1950. She died in 1999.

In later years, Eisenberg was often called on as an arbitrator in civil cases before the Common Pleas Court.

Theodore Eisenberg was a proud liberal Democrat and served as a committeeman in the Northeast, his family said. He was an avid bowler and belonged to several leagues. He also enjoyed tennis.

He was a member of B'nai B'rith.

"He was very cerebral," his daughter said. "He was a very wise person. You could present him with any situation that was going on in your life and he would always give sage and well-thought-out advice."

Beside his daughter, he is survived by a son, Stephen Eisenberg, and three granddaughters.

Services: Were Sunday at Roosevelt Memorial Park.