John McNelis, 90, of Chestnut Hill, teacher and businessman

John McNelis, 90, of Chestnut Hill, a teacher and businessman, died Wednesday, Feb. 1, at the Hill at Whitemarsh after a bout with pneumonia.

He had been healthy until several weeks ago, when he checked into the elder-care facility, his family said.

Mr. McNelis joined the faculty of La Salle College, teaching communications and management in the 1960s and 1970s. While there, he founded the Urban Studies Center and was active in helping to organize events involving the surrounding community in Olney.

In the 1970s, he represented the Pennsylvania Chain Store Council, a retailers' advocacy group, as a lobbyist in Harrisburg. From 1970 until 2006, when he retired, Mr. McNelis ran PGA Services Inc., a Chestnut Hill coupon clearing house for grocers. His daughter Deirdre Anne McNelis became his business partner. The firm also offered consulting services to grocers in the state.

He married Dorothy L. McNelis in 1955. They had four children and reared them in West Mount Airy.

The McNelises divorced in 1978,  and he moved to Chestnut Hill and lived there until just before his death.

Born in East Oak Lane, Mr. McNelis graduated in 1943 from St. Joseph's Preparatory School. In 1944, while an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, he enlisted in the Navy and was assigned to the Philippines. After World War II, Mr. McNelis completed a bachelor's degree in economics at Penn and a degree from the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a master's degree  at Temple University in 1969.

Along with his wife, Mr. McNelis was active in the Democratic Party in Philadelphia. He worked on John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign in 1960.

He was involved in the civil rights movement. In the late 1960s, he supported the right of students to express their views in opposition to the Vietnam War with a demonstration on the La Salle campus.  He joined the Catholic Interracial Council, a progressive group.

Mr. McNelis felt a deep connection to his Irish roots, and was an active member of the Philadelphia Céilí Group and the Donegal Society, both Irish American organizations promoting dance, music, and Irish culture.

"Our father loved Philadelphia - the natural beauty of its parks, and the amazing sense of community in Northwest Philadelphia. This city gave him a sense of joy and hope about life," said daughter Mary Hope McNelis Goudy.

In his later years, Mr. McNelis served in the Germantown community as a volunteer math tutor, first to adults seeking GED training at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Germantown, and then to children enrolled in the Chew and Belfield Neighbors Club program in East Germantown.

His former wife died in 2005. Besides his daughters, Mr. McNelis is survived by sons John Michael and Angus Edward; five grandchildren; and a sister.

A celebration of life will be held at noon Friday, Feb. 10, at Our Mother of Consolation Church, 9 E. Chestnut Hill Ave. Burial is at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham.

Donations may be made to St. Malachy School, 1012 W. Thompson St., Philadelphia 19122, or to St. Vincent de Paul Church, 109 E. Price St., Philadelphia 19144.